Should CA Schools Reopen This Fall? Patch Survey Results

CALIFORNIA — As the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of slowing in the near future, much of what the upcoming school year will look like remains unknown.

Earlier this month, California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced a set of guidelines for school districts to follow, with recommendations including face coverings for all students and teachers, social distancing inside classrooms and the continued presence of distance learning. The 62-page guidebook includes a number of ideas that would make California's schools look drastically different from before the coronavirus crisis.

Since then, wearing masks has become mandatory in California, so that recommendation will now likely be a mandate.

Overall, the state's nearly 1,000 school districts will need to work with state and county officials to establish specific measures based off of what variances they've been granted.

While some California parents are eager to get kids back in school, others are wary. Some parents are even considering switching to homeschooling in the fall.

How are you feeling about schools reopening in the fall? On Monday, we put out a survey about our readers' thoughts on the subject.

The survey was not meant to be a scientific poll, with random sampling and margins of error, but was meant only to gauge the sentiments of our readers in an informal way.

Overall, many readers say it's too soon to open. With 47.1 percent (5,134 votes) of respondents saying "it's too soon," another 39.5 percent (4,302) say "it's time to reopen." The remaining 13.5 percent say they are not sure.

The poll is now closed. Click here to see the overall results.

— Patch Editors Shannon Antinori and Nick Garber contributed to this report.