Poll: 72% of parents say stopping virus should be priority over reopening schools

Instead, more than three-quarters (77 percent) insist that America’s priority should be to limit the spread of the virus, even if it means students can’t physically return to schools; just 23 percent think America’s priority should be to fully reopen schools this fall, even if it increases the risk to public health.

Majorities of Democrats (95 percent), independents (72 percent), Republicans (58 percent) and parents of K-12 students (72 percent) agreed that reopening schools should take a backseat to public health. The only category of Americans who disagreed, by a slim 51 percent to 49 percent margin, was those who say they intend to vote for Trump in November.

Likewise, fewer than one quarter of Americans (23 percent) favor a return to in-person classes for children in places where there are large numbers of new COVID-19 cases. A majority (52 percent) are opposed. Again, the only group that wants schools to fully reopen in hotspots (45 percent to 29 percent) are self-described Trump voters. Even Republicans are evenly divided on the issue, with 39 percent saying yes and 38 percent saying no.