Students listen to their teacher, Kalyn Auth, on the first day of school in Braham, Minn., on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Photo by Elizabeth Shockman | MPR News.
by CRAIG HELMSTETTER | Jan. 31, 2022
DOCUMENTATION
DETAILED REPORT
SURVEY TRANSPARENCY DISCLOSURE & METHODS
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MOOD OF THE NATION POLL (December 2021):
* What Americans think of President Joe Biden
* Majority of Americans are “extremely worried” about the country in 2022
* How Americans think schools should teach about race, evolution and sex
MINNESOTA’S DIVERSE COMMUNITIES SURVEY: Attitudes toward the state’s K-12 public schools
Over 70% of Americans favor, at a minimum, masking in K-12 public schools as a response to increasing cases of COVID-19 in their local community. Nearly 60%, however, also support the continuation of in-person instruction, “even if some students might get sick.”
These are some of the findings of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy’s most recent Mood of the Nation Poll, fielded Nov. 30 to Dec. 7, just as the Omicron variant was taking hold in the U.S.
The poll also finds strong support for the role of parents and state public health agencies in creating schools’ responses to COVID-19. Much smaller proportions of the public support the role of state legislatures and governors in crafting such policy.
Poll results also show that Republicans and Democrats tend to hold different opinions about these local policies. In fact, opinions about the local schools’ response to a community’s uptick in COVID-19 cases is more polarized along political lines than it is around other potentially relevant characteristics like parenthood, age, race, or income.
Who should shape school health policy during a local spike in COVID-19?
Survey participants were presented with the all-too-real question: “At every school in the country, educators have tried to balance the risk of spreading COVID-19 against the costs of having students learn remotely. If we see another spike in COVID-19 cases in your community, how much influence should each of the following groups have in deciding how to set school health policy for your local public schools?”
The responses indicate that Americans most highly support the influence of parents of children in public schools, followed by state public health agencies.
Nearly half indicate that parents of school children should have “a great deal of influence” over the COVID-19 policies of local schools, including over half of all:
Republicans, including political independents who lean Republican (63%), as well as political independents who do not lean toward either major party (53%). In contrast, only one-third of Democrats, including political independents who lean Democrat, think parents should have a great deal of influence on COVID-19 policies in the schools.
Those age 65 or older (57%), as well as those age 45 to 64 (53%).
Those with some college or an associate’s degree (54%).
Black Americans (53%).
Parents and others with a child under age 18 in the home (51%).
When asked why she thought parents should have a great deal of influence on schools’ COVID-19 policies, a 54-year-old White, Republican survey respondent from Washington state commented, “It's their children, the government needs to stay out of people's lives. Let parents be parents.”
Forty percent of Americans think that state public health agencies should exercise “a great deal of influence” over the COVID-19 policies of local schools, including over half of all:
Democrats, including political independents who lean Democrat (59%). In contrast, only 1 in 5 Republicans indicate that state public health agencies should have a great deal of influence on COVID-19 policies in the schools.
Black Americans (52%).
When asked to explain his support for the role of public health agencies in school-based COVID-19 responses a 65-year-old White, Democrat survey respondent from Colorado stated, “Politics and personal bias are rampant in most groups. Using professions who study and think about such issues is much more likely to produce rational policy.”
Just over one-quarter of Americans think that local school boards and teachers should exercise “a great deal of influence” over the COVID-19 policies of local schools.
One in three Democrats indicate that school boards and teachers should have a great deal of influence on their schools’ COVID-19 policies, compared with only 1 in 5 Republicans.
When asked why he supported the role of the local school board in influencing COVID-19 responses in the schools, a 75-year-old White Republican survey respondent from Massachusetts stated, “I believe government closest to the people is, more often than not, is best to make community decisions.” A 25-year-old Black Democrat from New York commented, “Because it's the school board, the board should be able to influence what goes on in the schools.”
One-fifth of Americans indicate that elected officials, including the state legislature and the governor, as well as local citizens, including those without children attending public schools, should exercise a great deal of influence over the responses from local schools to spiking cases of COVID-19.
The proportion of Democrats who say that state legislatures and the governor should have “a great deal of influence” over school-based COVID-19 policies, 28%, is nearly twice that of Independents and Republicans (15% each).
School policy preferences in responses to local spike in COVID-19 cases
In addition to the question of who the public thinks should influence school COVID-19 policies is the basic question of the public’s underlying priorities in responding to a not-so-theoretical scenario of a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases.
Results from a question asking respondents which of three statements comes closest to their views, suggest that most Americans—about 3 in 5—prioritize maintaining in-person instruction, “even if some students might get sick.” That majority, however, is evenly split between those who favor an in-person setting with “mandatory masking” and those who prefer schooling “without masking.”
About 2 in 5 favor a response that would prioritize limiting the spread of COVID-19, even at the expense of student learning. Note, that this position mentions masking as a potential response to a COVID-19 outbreak. Thus, combining those favoring this response with those favoring in-person instruction with mandatory masking it seems safe to say that a strong majority of Americans, over 70%, favor masking at least as a school’s minimal response to a local spike in COVID-19 cases.
Most demographic groups are similar to the public at large: a small majority indicate they would favor one of the two statements representing a continuation of in-person instruction if there were a local spike in COVID-19 cases. And, in most groups, a strong majority favors one of the two statements indicating that masking should at least be a school’s minimal response to an increase in COVID-19 cases. Exceptions to these patterns include:
Those under 30, Black adults and Democrats; over half of those in these groups prioritize limiting COVID-19 in schools, “even if interfering with learning.”
Republicans, half of whom favoring in-person instruction without masking.
PARTNER FOR THIS SURVEY
The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State promotes scholarship and practical innovations that defend and advance democracy in the United States and abroad. Through teaching, research, and public outreach, the Institute leverages the resources of Penn State and partners around the world to foster a model of deliberation, policymaking, and responsiveness that is passionate, informed, and civil.
The Institute’s Mood of the Nation poll offers a unique approach to public opinion polling. It allows Americans to speak in their own words through open-ended questions that focus on emotions like anger and hope, as well as commitment to constitutional principles.