The latest results from an annual poll of Tennessee parents from the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy again show education and school quality are the leading concerns parents have for their children for the third consecutive year.
Statewide, parents listed their top concerns as 1) education and school quality (43%), 2) bullying, including cyberbullying (39%), 3) mental health and suicide (37%), 4) school gun violence (32%), and 5) drug and alcohol use (23%).
Nearly 40% of parents said their children were worried about school shootings, and two-thirds of parents said they have had conversations with their children about firearm violence at school. Less than 20% said they felt schools were safer than the previous year, and a similar number considered changing schools or homeschooling due to safety concerns.
