Racial and Ethnic Differences in Parental Attitudes and Concerns About School Reopening During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, July 2020

Abstract

In light of the disproportionate risk of hospitalization and death attributable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among racial and ethnic minority groups, parental attitudes and concerns regarding school reopening were assessed by race and ethnicity using data from three online CARAVAN omnibus surveys conducted during July 8-12, 2020, by ENGINE Insights.* Survey participants included 858 parents who had children and adolescents in kindergarten through grade 12 (school-aged children) living in their household. Overall, 56.5% of parents strongly or somewhat agreed that school should reopen this fall, with some differences by race/ethnicity: compared with 62.3% of non-Hispanic White (White) parents, 46.0% of non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) parents (p = 0.007) and 50.2% of Hispanic parents (p = 0.014) agreed that school should reopen this fall. Fewer White parents (62.5%) than Hispanic (79.5%, p = 0.026) and non-Hispanic parents of other racial/ethnic groups (66.9%, p = 0.041) were supportive of a mask mandate for students and staff members. Understanding parental attitudes and concerns is critical to informing communication and messaging around COVID-19 mitigation. Families' concerns also highlight the need for flexible education plans and equitable resource provision so that youth education is not compromised.