Poll: Only 8 Percent of Americans Think Schools Should Fully Reopen With In-Person Instruction

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Only eight percent of Americans think K-12 schools should fully reopen with classes in the fall, a new poll from the Associated Press and NORC Center of Public Affairs found.

In the poll, 14 percent think schools can reopen with minor adjustments while 46 percent believe major adjustments are needed. While 31 percent believe instruction should not be in-person this fall, six in 10 Americans think a mix of virtual and in-person classes are needed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eighty percent of Americans are concerned about the reopening of schools, too, while 55 percent of parents are worried about their child falling behind academically.

The poll comes a couple weeks after President Donald Trump threatened to defund schools if they didn’t reopen, though most of his statements were directed at universities.

“Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education. Therefore, I am telling the Treasury Department to re-examine their Tax-Exempt Status and/or Funding, which will be taken away if this Propaganda or Act Against Public Policy continues,” Trump tweeted on July 10. “Our children must be Educated, not Indoctrinated!”

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos also echoed Trump’s statements this month, saying on CNN, “If schools aren’t going to reopen and not fulfill their promise, they shouldn’t get the funds. Then give it to the families to decide to go to a school that is going to meet that promise.”