FILE: Canyons School District buses, April 14, 2020. Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Some parents support a temporary school shutdown while Covid-19 surges. Utah based company Qualtrics conducted a nationwide 2021 Back to School study of how parents feel about the safety of their kids going back to school.
A majority of those surveyed, 65%, said they support closing schools if the Delta variant of COVID-19 continued to rapidly spread. The study broke down the support across political and gender lines.
Perhaps not surprising, 83% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans say they would support a temporary school shutdown if needed. That broke out to 70% of dads and 60% of moms supporting school closures.
The one thing 65% of parents agreed on is kids do better with in-person learning. With 53% stating their children fell behind in the school work when learning remotely last year.
The study also showed over half of parents are more worried this school year than last about the safety of their children.