Using Parallels, am I able to run MS SQL Server 2019 Dev Edition on a Macbook Pro M1?

SQL Server does not support ARM, so that is not a good start. But I believe it is possible if you run in a Docker container. I don't use Macs myself, but here is a link to an old thread: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1298316/sql-server-2022-database-engine-services-failde?comment=answer-1266245&page=2#answers. Read the answer from Randolph West and then continue to their blog.

Here is also a link to a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c7Ti2OcLZg

Please try this unofficial installer.

You can try to install SQL Server LocalDB as explained here. Local DB may be enough for your class.

No, arm windows can not run Sqlserver, so parallels is not the answer. But you can use Mac’s support of x64 containers to run Sqlserver in a container. It is a much simpler install. First pick your container software, either docker or apples.

https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/

https://github.com/apple/container

Then just pull the container.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/quickstart-install-connect-docker?view=sql-server-ver17&tabs=cli&pivots=cs1-bash

Note: you must install rosetta if not installed

softwareupdate --install-rosetta

if you installed windows in parallels you can run the lastest SSMS as there is now ARM support (and the SSMS can access SQLServer running on the Mac), or on your Mac use Visual Studio Code and MSSQL extension to run queries and see results. Visual Studio Code also supports sql database projects.