A family’s income appears to be directly related to the amount of online learning that children have participated in during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 80% of children from families who make more than $100,000 per year engage in distance learning daily, for at least two hours. In contrast, 40% of children from poorer families report using online learning once per week or less. More than 30% of families who make less than $25,000 per year reported that either their children had no access to a computer or tablet to do schoolwork, or they had to share one computer or tablet among multiple family members. In addition, 11% of those same families said their schools were not even offering distance learning materials. There were also notable disparities for families with children who required special education or additional support. More than 50% of the poorest families reported that their children with IEPs were either receiving none of the additional support, or only a small portion of the support. 
This report highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic and the remote learning that has been implemented as a result is not affecting American children equally. Our poorest families and children, whether they have IEPs and require addition support or are in general education, have reported less learning, engagement, and support since distance learning began. 
The data in this report were from a survey conducted by Parents Together, a nonprofit, online news platform specifically for parent and family news topics. Parents Together is ran by 12 employees; eleven of whom are female, and one is black. The survey had 1,500 respondents, though not from a random sample of the US population, limiting what generalizations can legitimately be made from the data. Nevertheless, because the 1,500 respondents were geographically, racially, and socioeconomically diverse, it is likely the trends seen in this report are at least similar to the national reality. That is, poorer kids and students with IEPs are facing more challenges with distance learning than others. This report does highlights symptoms of a problem but does not get at any of the root causes. Why are poor students and special education students reporting such lower engagement with online learning?

Items