According to survey, most citizens wary of schools reopening safely due to Covid-19

Through a continuous  national survey about Americans’ attitudes towards Covid-19, 69% of citizens say they are not confident in school districts to reopen safely in the midst of the pandemic, with only 10% saying returning to school is “very safe.” The survey comes from “The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States,” which includes researchers from Northwestern, Harvard, Northeastern and Rutgers.

Discrepancies in the survey responses were found between citizens of differing identities and backgrounds. The wealthiest respondents were approximately twice as likely (40% to 22%) to send their children to school as the least wealthy respondents. Additionally, the most confident respondents in school safety amidst the pandemic were white and male, and Republican states lead the country in those who wanted schools to resume as normal.

According to  James Druckman, the Payson S. Wild Professor of political science and Northwestern and associate director of Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research,

“Clearly, Americans are concerned. That those with lower incomes exhibit less confidence may track resource differences between schools that are needed to return safely.”

To learn more about views of school reopening in the United States, see the Northwestern Now article National Survey: Most Americans not confident school reopening can be done safely.