Nearly 1.3 million students left district-run public schools in the last two years, estimates the Return to Learn tracker. Districts’ pandemic policies were a major factor, says Nat Malkus of the American Enterprise Institute. Districts that returned to in-person more quickly have regained more of their pre-pandemic enrollment. Districts that reopened schools quickly didn’t lose much enrollment. Photo: Rodnae Productions/Pexels The district who stayed remote the longest lost