Poll: Americans Continue to Push Back Against Trump’s Plan to Reopen Schools

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According to the latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, Americans continue to be largely against President Donald Trump’s plan to reopen schools amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The poll found that 59 percent of respondents oppose fully reopening K-12 schools for the beginning of the academic year. That’s six points higher than last month’s poll.

56 percent of respondents said they are against fully reopening day-cares. 57 percent said they were opposed to reopening colleges and universities.

On the matter of virtual instruction, there is a split along party lines. 42 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans said federal funding should remain unchanged if schools go the virtual route. 23 percent of Republicans said they support decreasing federal funding for schools that go the virtual route.

“Over half of suburban voters oppose the idea of reopening K-12 schools in person for the new academic year, at odds with President Trump encouraging the contrary,” said Kyle Dropp, co-founder and chief research officer at Morning Consult. “Three-quarters of suburban voters also think federal funding should be either maintained or increased for schools choosing to open virtually.”

Last week, a Washington Post-Schar School survey conducted by Ipsos found 63 percent of parents disapprove of the Trump administration’s push to fully reopen schools amid the coronavirus pandemic. 44 percent strongly disapprove while 15 percent said they strongly approve.

The president has continued to support reopening schools entirely.

“I think it’s a very important thing for the economy to get the schools going,” he said during a Monday briefing, claiming that cases among kids make up a “tiny, tiny fraction of death” and that children “get better very quickly.”