Bill de Blasio is right: Remote learning should be done away with for good

Come September, all schoolchildren ought to be back in the classroom. Yet, many politicians and school chiefs are afraid to promise: no more Zoom school.

It took Bill De Blasio to take the lead. "New York City public schools, 1 million kids, will be back in their classroom in September, all in-person, no remote. That’s the news," announced New York's often-feckless mayor.

De Blasio’s decision to get rid of remote learning altogether is important since many school districts plan on keeping it as an alternative even after health officials declare the pandemic to be over. In Minnesota, for example, Bloomington Public School District decided to make its distance learning program a stand-alone, digital-only option for families who would prefer to remain online for good. Hundreds of other school districts have established similar virtual schools with their own teachers and curricula designed for online learning.