Back-to-School has become another culture war battleground as parents and teachers search for a path forward

A twist 2020 could only bring: back-to-school is political. “The science should not stand in the way' of reopening schools” Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary, told a group of reporters late last week, clarifying that when the president talks about school reopening, he wants “every kid and teacher coming to school every day.”

But those closest to the issue—parents and teachers— are more willing to find a compromise between a full back-to-school schedule and a complete distance learning overhaul for the fall semester. That may be the one saving grace as schools try to retain teachers and educate safely during the pandemic.

Meeting in the middle is not to say partisanship has gone out the window. Democrats are over twice as likely to see going back-to-school in person as a large risk, according to the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index, with 57% of Democratic parents seeing a return to the classroom as a large risk compared to only 24% of Republican parents.

Those topline numbers hide a more complicated reality, one where parents somewhat buck party trends. According to new Reuters/Ipsos polling, 40% of Republican parents are very concerned about coronavirus spreading, about 10-points ahead of Republicans who aren’t parents.

When it comes to school re-opening though, Democratic parents are more likely to stray from their party line here. They are over three times as likely to back a full reopening than Democrats who aren’t parents. Only 5% of Democrats who aren’t parents support reopening, while nearly one in five (18%) of Democratic parents do.

This softening of partisanship among those directly impacted by this part of the pandemic was also evident at the end of May, when Ipsos polled teachers and parents on behalf of USA Today. Back then, COVID-19 was on the decline across the country, not accelerating at the record-breaking clip it is now.

Partisanship almost disappears among teachers when it comes to some variation or compromise on an online learning schedule while red and blue divisions remains among the general public. This study found that 69% of teachers, with little variation by party, supported going back to school 2-3 days a week with distance learning other days.

While partisanship was still a factor for parents, it lessened somewhat. One in four Republican parents strongly support this modified distance learning schedule, 11-points ahead of non-parents of the same party. Among Democrats and Republicans broadly, there is a 20-point divide on this question.

One thing that’s clear, the obstacles to schooling in person during a pandemic cut across the partisan divide. Nearly all teachers (87%) agree that they would have difficulty enforcing social distancing among their students if they were to return to school in any capacity in the fall, USA Today/Ipsos polling found. Most parents feel the same way. Over two-thirds (68%) agree that their children would have difficulty social distancing at school.

Teacher retention is another issue plaguing the back-to-school season as the nature of educating changes abruptly. If forced to go back to the classroom in the fall, nearly one in five (18%) teachers would not return to teaching. An even higher share of teachers —roughly half— thought about leaving their job.

Even if many teachers didn’t leave and schools could open, that doesn’t guarantee parents will send their kids to school. About one in five Republican parents (21%) wouldn’t send their kids to school, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling from this week. Half (49%) of Democratic parents felt the same.

The official start of the school year is coming sooner than legislators would like. Teacher retention, student safety and parental concern—issues that are part of a normal school year—are magnified to the extreme because of the pandemic. The one, slim silver lining: teachers and parents show some sign of compromise from each of their parties’ hardlines.