Parents Don’t Think Students Will Follow Schools’ Covid-19 Rules, Survey Says

Most Maine parents are confident their local schools can implement safety measures aimed at curbing the coronavirus’ spread when school starts this fall, but they don’t have confidence that students will follow the rules. Those are among the findings from a statewide survey of parents, school administrators and teachers that the Maine Department of Education administered in early July as it planned for a unique fall 2020 semester during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey — of more than 45,000 families, teachers, administrators and other school employees — found that students largely want to return after a spring during which they learned remotely, with 82 percent of parents saying their children were eager to go back to school. Some 71 percent of parents said they would send their children back to school in person, and 88 percent of administrators said they would return to in-person learning for the fall.