John Hood: We can’t keep our schools closed

RALEIGH — Our elementary and secondary schools will reopen this fall. During these past months of disruption, dismay, and despair, I have never once doubted it. There really is no practical alternative to reopening schools. Life, work, and education must proceed.

Nevertheless, I understand why some parents are concerned about keeping their children safe. We should all be concerned about their safety.

So, if circumstances are such that a parent or caregiver can watch the children without the household sacrificing too much income, families might to consider homeschooling as a safe and sustainable option — a purposeful, well-crafted homeschooling program, that is, not something jury-rigged during an emergency shutdown.

After all, for every trip a child takes to and from school, there is a small but worrisome risk of death on the road.

According to the National Safety Council, the rate of fatality by motor-vehicle accident is about 19 deaths per one million children between the ages of five and 14. Even more concerning is the death rate among those aged 15 to 24: 150 per million.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Highway safety has actually improved over time. Forty years ago, death rates were much higher: 107 per million for young children and 471 per million for older teens and young adults. So, we have experienced astounding improvement in safety. But risk remains. And I would never fault those who worry about it.

If, however, parents were comfortable sending their children to school on buses or cars before the COVID-19 pandemic, but now say they are unwilling to send their children back to school — or to gymnastics, band practice, soccer leagues, or swimming pools — until the coronavirus threat is essentially extinguished, I would gently but firmly question whether they have properly assessed the relevant risks.

According to an analysis of federal data by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, the rate of deaths associated with COVID-19 are as follows: .15 per million for children aged five to 14 and 1.37 per million for those aged 15 to 24. These risks qualify as exceedingly low. In the context of other dangers our children face when they venture from home, such risks would be unlikely to change anyone’s behavior if considered in a sober, dispassionate manner.