Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Have parental attitudes about reopening schools varied based on race?

Saturday, November 28, 2020

By Allegra Taylor

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YES

Polls of parents of school-age children have found attitudes on school reopenings during the coronavirus pandemic differ markedly by race.

A July Washington Post poll found 57% of white parents felt it would be safe for their children to return to school in person in the fall, while only 21% of Black parents and 27% of Hispanic parents said the same.

Another survey found 46% of all parents, including 43% of Hispanic parents, were comfortable with the idea. Among Black parents, only 24% were comfortable.

In Sept. 2020, Business Insider published charts based on surveys conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and other groups. A plurality of white parents (34%) wanted their kids back to school in person in August or September—but only 19% of non-white parents did. A plurality of non-white parents (25%) wanted to wait until spring 2021.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Washington Post: Poll finds many parents prefer mixing online and in-person school

American Federation of Teachers: Parents' and teachers' views on reopening schools

Business Insider: Non-white parents more likely to want children to return to school in spring

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.