Tennessee Leads Nation in New Report on Education Policy Battles
A first-of-its-kind report ranks states on contentious issues in public schools, with red states generally scoring higher.
Tennessee has been ranked the leading state in the nation for its approach to major education policy battles, according to the first-ever Rankings on Integrity in State Education released by Defending Education. The report, published Thursday, assesses all 50 states and Washington D.C. on issues including parental rights, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), gender and sexuality policies, teacher and union regulations, and foreign influence in education.
Following Tennessee at the top of the rankings are Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Iowa. Conversely, Washington D.C. ranked last, preceded by Rhode Island, California, Oregon, and Illinois. The rankings specifically exclude academic metrics like test scores and graduation rates, focusing instead on how states address pressing cultural issues in their classrooms and respond to parental demands for transparency.
In the category of parental rights, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia tied for the top position. These states received high marks for policies that grant parents more control over issues such as student gender transitions, sex education curricula, and participation in related lessons.
Regarding teacher policies, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina achieved perfect scores. The report considered laws governing teacher unions, strikes, collective bargaining, and work authorization requirements as key factors in this assessment.
The DEI category was led by Iowa, Missouri, and West Virginia, which were recognized for laws restricting DEI initiatives and policies related to restorative justice, teacher diversity, and antisemitism.
A significant focus of the report was the growing debate around gender identity and transgender athletes. Alabama, Florida, and Indiana earned the highest scores in this area, with policies that block LGBTQ-specific curriculum and restrict transgender athletes' participation in women's sports.
In terms of foreign influence, seven states—Alabama, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas—received perfect scores for laws limiting the influence of entities like China's Confucius Institutes. These are centers for language and cultural education often backed by the Chinese government.
Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives at Defending Education, stated that the report provides parents with a consolidated resource to understand their state's policies on education issues, enabling them to evaluate local schools and hold leaders accountable. Dr. Terry Stoops, director of government affairs at Defending Education, congratulated the top-ranking states, asserting that their policies prioritize academic rigor over what he termed "shameless antics." He also criticized the lowest-scoring states, suggesting their leaders have "sacrificed educational excellence at the altar of social justice."