Few in U.S. back full school reopening

Poll: Just 8% of Americans say K-12 institutions should have normal in-person learning

Boston — Virtual instruction. Mandated masks. Physical distancing. The start of school will look very different this year because of the coronavirus — and that’s OK with the vast majority of Americans.

Only about 1 in 10 Americans think daycare centers, preschools or K-12 schools should open this fall without restrictions, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. Most think mask requirements and other safety measures are necessary to restart in-person instruction, and roughly 3 in 10 say that teaching kids in classrooms shouldn’t happen at all.

The findings are a sharp contrast to the picture that President Donald Trump paints as he pressures schools to reopen. Trump said Wednesday that he would be “comfortable” with his son Barron and grandchildren attending school in person this fall.

“I would like to see the schools open,” he told reporters.

Few schools, however, plan to return to business as usual. Many of the nation’s largest school districts have announced that they’ll be entirely virtual in the fall or use a hybrid model that has children in classrooms only a couple of days a week.

The poll finds only 8% of Americans say K-12 schools should open for normal in-person instruction. Just 14% think they can reopen with minor adjustments, while 46% think major adjustments are needed. Another 31% think instruction should not be in person this fall. It’s little different among the parents of school-age children.

The poll also shows Americans feel the same about colleges and universities reopening this fall.

Americans show little confidence in Trump’s handling of education issues. Only 36% say they approve of Trump’s performance, while 63% disapprove. But a stark political divide on opening schools suggests many Republicans are taking cues from the president.

About 9 in 10 Democrats say requiring students and staff to wear masks is essential to reopening, while only about half of Republicans say the same. Democrats are roughly twice as likely as Republicans to say schools should use a mix of in-person and virtual instruction to reduce the number of students in buildings, 77% to 39%.

Patty Kasbek, of Bartlesville, Okla., said she desperately wants her two children, ages 5 and 10, to return to school. After months at home, the family is stressed and anxious. But with the virus surging, she doesn’t see a safe way to reopen.

“School shouldn’t even be considered right now,” said Kasbek, 40, who considers herself a Democrat. “We need to get this under control before we play with the virus. It’s just too dangerous to put our kids out there like guinea pigs.”

Her local school district is planning to reopen with new safety measures, she said, but she’s opting to enroll her children in a virtual school. She isn’t as worried about her own health but fears that reopening schools could spread the virus to others.

The poll finds a majority of Americans, 56%, say they are very or extremely concerned that reopening schools will lead to additional infections in their communities; another 24% are somewhat concerned.

Some, however, see little risk. James Rivers, of Ramsey, Minn., said schools should reopen without protective measures against the virus. Rivers, a Republican, says Trump is doing a “fine job” and will have his vote in November.

“I think it should be just business as usual,” said Rivers, 54. “Yes, there is a COVID virus, but is it any more deadly than the common flu? I don’t think so.”

Rivers, who does not have schoolage children, said parents who fear the virus can home school. “As for everybody else who isn’t afraid of a virus that has a less than 2% chance of being fatal, send your kid back to school. Let’s get it done,” he said.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,057 adults was conducted July 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.