Majority of teachers say they are worried about coronavirus exposure on the job: poll

The majority of K-12 teachers in the U.S. are either very or moderately concerned about being exposed to COVID-19 if they return to in-person instruction in the fall, a new Gallup poll finds.

In the poll, 57 percent of surveyed teachers said that they were very concerned about exposure, while 18 percent said that they were moderately concerned. Only 25 percent said that they were either not too concerned or not concerned at all about being exposed to the virus when returning to the classroom.

Nearly three-fourths of teachers said that would prefer to work remotely — virtual learning — if given the choice.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has ramped up its pressure on school districts across the country to reopen for in-person learning in the fall.

President Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from school districts that don’t fully reopen. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also slammed hybrid plans some school districts have floated that would send students to school for part of the week and then use virtual learning the rest of the time.

On Thursday night the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines that focused heavily on schools reopening in the fall. 

The poll was conducted June 29-July 19 and surveyed 495 K-12 teachers across the country. The margin of error is 9 percentage points.