U.S. school reopening policy ignored high schoolers with catastrophic consequences for college readiness.

It was a mistake to set a pandemic school reopening goal that ignored high schoolers.

In December 2020, then President-elect Joe Biden announced a school reopening goal for K-8 schools — ignoring high schools — that I worried would have tragic consequences for American teenagers. High school basically constitutes a third of a child’s education and is essential preparation for the world of work or tertiary education.

In winter 2021, children were speaking out — noting that high school closures interfered with college preparation — but nobody in power seemed to care.

This New York City high schooler accurately declared that “virtual school is not real school.”

He was correct.

When CBS News journalists noted the exclusion of high schools from the Biden administration’s school reopening goal in January 2021 and asked the White House when they should reopen, they did not receive a response.

The White House spokesperson did not respond to CBS News’ inquiry about when high schools should be open again.

A school reopening policy that literally seemed to pretend high schools didn’t exist had devastating consequences for the nation’s high schoolers. Today, the Associated…