Schools with in-person classes more likely in Trump country - Entrepreneur Generations

Schools planning to reopen this fall with in-person classes are more likely to be in counties that Trump carried in 2016, according to a new Brookings Institution study. On average, the counties where schools plan to hold in-person classes supported Trump with 55 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, districts reopening with distance learning only averaged only 35% support for Trump in 2016. The study also found no correlation between plans to hold in-person classes and the share of local coronavirus infections, Jon Valant reports.

Since rural counties are more likely to support Trump, and rural counties often lack adequate broadband access, it's unclear whether the study conflates local political sentiment with a decision born of lack of resources.

Regardless, school districts may feel pressure to resume in-person classes. "Reporting on negotiations between the White House and Republican legislators suggests that almost half of funds for K-12 schools in the covid-19 aid package could be unavailable to schools that do not reopen with in-person learning. CDC guidance on school reopening has become so politicized that it now lacks credibility," Valant writes. "This puts local decision-makers in the precarious position of making reopening decisions with insufficient resources and information, and problematic incentives. Moreover, now that school reopening has become politicized—like mask-wearing and hydroxychloroquine before it—we’re all in the precarious position of having local and state leaders who might, knowingly or not, prioritize politics over safety and reason in their decision-making."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/33zm9Oj Schools with in-person classes more likely in Trump country - Entrepreneur Generations

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