Imagine the following scenario. As the 2024 Republican presidential primary draws closer, education emerges as a key GOP flashpoint. Instead of typical debates over vouchers and charter schools, however, an unexpected rift opens up over school closures. In this alternate universe, it was the Democrats who prioritized school reopenings during the pandemic, while many conservatives remain angry over policies that they perceived as putting children at risk.

Meanwhile, Democrats capitalize on internal Republican divisions over the issue, characterizing the GOP’s support for remote learning as “anti-teacher” and oblivious to potential learning loss from prolonged school closures. In her impassioned congressional testimony, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten says, “We spent every day from February [2020] on trying to get schools open. We knew that remote education was not a substitute for opening schools.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre touts the Left’s record on reopening schools, saying, “That was the work of … Democrats in spite of Republicans.” Union officials and education policy experts emphasize the disproportionate impact of school closures on poor and minority communities.