ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — A survey commissioned by the Florida Education Association (FEA) of 500 public school parents found they have "deep concerns" and "genuine fear" of sending their students back to brick and mortar schools.
The state's largest teachers’ union said the survey was created to gauge parent's feelings about Florida's current back-to-school policies and the push for in-person learning.
According to the study of parents with kids from PreK-12, conducted between July 24 to 28 by Clearview Polling and Research, 77 percent of parents said "it is dangerous" to send “children to school at a time like this."
FEA says just shy of half of the parents surveyed said they would not be sending their child back to in-person learning, with another 72 percent "worried" their child will bring COVID-19 home from school.
“The idea that children will be sent back into overcrowded classrooms at a time when Covid-19 is raging through our state is causing a great deal of alarm among parents of public school children,” said FEA President Fedrick Ingram said, in part, about survey results.
The FEA also asked parents who they trust the most when it comes to education policy during the coronavirus pandemic. Teachers came out on top with 82 percent, followed by school districts and superintendents. Rounding out last on the list was trust in Gov. Ron DeSantis with 37 percent.
When it comes to beliefs about how the school year should be conducted, parents are showing a bit of variation:
- In-person school with social distancing: 29%
- Beginning the year with distance learning: 49%
- School year entirely delayed: 21%
Survey results pushed Ingram to called for an "immediate" statewide halt to the mandate that schools require in-classroom options for families, according to a release.
“Parents are genuinely afraid for the safety and well-being of their children, their families and school employees – and they have good reason to be. Our state needs to enact policies that put the lives of these children at the forefront of our decision-making,” Ingram said.
The FEA is no stranger to the fight against the Sunshine State's option to return to in-person classrooms. It currently is moving forward with a lawsuit over reopening schools and in the past called Florida's "rush" to reopen campuses an "experiment on kids and staff."
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