This article from the Wall Street Journal describes the decision of some states and districts to just end the school year instead of trying to finish the year online. [As an aside, I know this article is behind a pay wall and you may not have a subscription. I would recommend the Apple News subscription as a remedy. You get access to multiple magazines and several papers including WSJ for $10 a month.] The states include Texas, Georgia, and D.C.. I understand that teachers had little time to prepare, many students lack the necessary equipment and bandwidth, parents struggle to assist, etc.. I also understand that stopping a few weeks early will not be catastrophic in the big scheme of things. Our family lived through an early closure 20 or so years ago when Grand Forks, ND, was completely flooded and the city was shut down for months. There are circumstances that warrant giving up for the year.
Still, I wouldn’t have shut down. I would have reduced demands and expectations and carried on. What if this is not the end and it is not practical to open as normal in the Fall? The same challenges will exist in the Fall and states, districts, educators, and parents will have had no experience to draw on. It is possible budgets in the Fall will be even worse than at present. It is possible there will not be new money to provide devices and hot spots for families presently in need. It is possible that state budgets will require cutbacks in school personnel and funds for the purchase of curriculum materials designed for technology-based delivery. It is possible there will not be funds to bring educators back a month early to prepare for online instruction. Why not use the present as a time to explore and develop resources?
I think it very possible the time we are living through will generate permanent changes in many industries and the new normal will not be the same as the previous normal. Exploration, research and development, or whatever you want to call the invest in exploring options is desirable even in fields that are resistant to change (education). I think many states are passing up an opportunity.