Civis Analytics has been doing national research (with deep dives in Florida, Washington, Texas, Ohio, and New York) on the social, economic, and educational effects of COVID-19 in America. The research was funded by the Gates Foundation. Below are the educational results.

39.7% of parents of K-12 students across the US say that they have disenrolled their children from the school they were originally supposed to attend this year, in response to school reopening plans. Of those that disenrolled their children, 57.8% have enrolled their child or children in an online program, 26.8% have enrolled their child or children in a public school, and 20.5% have enrolled their child or children in a private school. 83.3% of parents who disenrolled their children say that they will re-enroll their children back into the original school once it is safe to do so. 

34.1% of US parents of K-12 students report that their children will be attending all in-person classes, 46.3% report that their children will be attending all remote classes, and 19.6% reporting a hybrid of in-person and remote. 71.9% of K-12 parents in the US said that their children’s school provided the option to choose between in-person, remote, or hybrid classes.  54.8% of K-12 parents in the US reported that their children’s school has provided information about mental and physical health, 39.1% reported receiving information about racial justice, and 63.9% reported receiving information about food services.

When asked about various safety measures that schools could implement for in-person classes, the majority of K-12 parents in the US said they would be more willing to send their children to school if those measures were implemented. Providing masks and hand sanitizer to each student is most effective at increasing parental confidence in in-person classes (59.9% would be more willing to send their children to school), followed by enforcing social distancing in classrooms and hallways (57.8%). Reducing the hours per day that a student is at school was the least effective in convincing parents; 52.3% of K-12 parents reported being more willing to send their children to school.

K-12 parents in the US do generally think schools can successfully implement these safety measures. 74.6% of parents in the US overall say schools will likely be successful in implementing increased cleaning and disinfecting of facilities, compared to 64.0% who think schools can successfully enforce social distancing in classrooms and hallways.