Axios breaking news is one of those chicken-or-the-egg things:

The doors of public schools are swiftly slamming shut for many Americans ahead of this next school year.

• Los Angeles and San Diego are starting out online-only this fall, forcing 825,000 students to learn with a laptop.
• California is also re-entering lockdown: Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered restaurants, wineries, movie theaters and other family entertainment to stop serving customers indoors, and he ordered bars to close in their entirety.

It’s hard to say which decision came first, right?

In general, this is good news for California, though it might not seem like it at first. Not all kids are going to have equal access to education. Not all of them have computers and internet access, and not all school districts are going to be able to pull this off the way LA Unified might be able to, but there’s an improved chance that families will not be exposed to the virus and keel over dead. In general I would say that’s a win.

Axios continues:

This could start a domino effect among officials who haven’t made a final decision, especially with the coronavirus surging across much of the U.S.

• It also sets up a conflict with the Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who are pushing schools to have students in classrooms.

Unbelievably, Devos said she was unconcerned about exposing children to a pandemic on the Sunday Talkies.

…and TBogg, of course, nailed it:

Devos is a monster, Prznint Stupid is a monster. It’s impossible to me that parents are being put into this position. This is one of those times I really hope the ol’ rule of thumb is true: As goes California, the nation follows..

Republished with permission from Mock Paper Scissors