Due to the nature of distance learning, parents by necessity had to become much more aware of what their children were being taught in schools. They also had to do their own ad hoc homeschooling to make up for the wide gaps created by virtual learning. This triggered several reactions.
For one thing, parents started fleeing school districts in record numbers — either to move from city schools to suburban schools, or to exit the public system altogether in favor of private options or homeschooling. In Los Angeles, public-school enrollment shrank by 27,000 students, or 6 percent. In Chicago, the decline was 11,000, or 3 percent. In New York City, the nation’s largest school district, the decline is believed to be so catastrophic that the city still has refused to publicly release the numbers. In many districts, school funding is tied to the number of students enrolled, meaning a huge and sustained exodus would bleed public schools of money.
Those parents who have kept their children in the public-school system have become much more involved and eager to fight back against inane policies such as masking as well as left-wing teaching initiatives.
The problem this presents to Democrats politically is that the nature of their constituency makes it difficult for them to side with parents in education fights.
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