A majority of parents support school-wide mask mandates as skepticism toward online learning grows


Eager to ditch distance learning, a "strong majority" of parents with school-aged children said they support mask mandates for students and teachers, especially given "the surge in pediatric COVID cases," USA Today reports, per a new USA Today/Ipsos poll.
More specifically, 2 in 3 parents are in favor of enforced school-wide mask wearing, with optimism toward online learning having found itself on the decline, USA Today writes. Parents are more skeptical of the system than they were before, and their confidence in the work districts did to "adequately [prepare] students for remote instruction" reportedly dropped 15 percent from last May, now down to just about half.
Moms and dads are also less confident that their child will be able to make up any of the ground lost to online learning, USA Today finds, with a majority believing it did in fact cause their child or children to fall behind.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Despite the push to return to the classroom, however, most parents do agree that masks should be required, with parents of color among the strongest supporters on the matter. "Being together and wearing masks is better than the isolation of everyone being home," said Sivya Leventhal, a mother of two from Dallas, Texas.
USA Today and Ipsos surveyed 2,010 adults from Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2021. Results have a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. See more results at USA Today.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
AI is creating a luxury housing renaissance in San Francisco
Under the Radar Luxury homes in the city can range from $7 million to above $20 million
-
How carbon credits could help and hurt the climate
The explainer The credits could be allowing polluters to continue polluting
-
5 tips for building a healthy skincare routine for tweens and teens
The Week Recommends Social media is pushing overly elaborate routines for young skin
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders