To put it lightly, going back to school is looking complicated for K-12 students in the U.S. As they prepare to enter their third consecutive school year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with some schools in the south starting classes this week, the perpetual clashes over masking and vaccines are now compounded by new concerns over variants and transmission. Some districts are considering extending hybrid and online models, and questions remain over how to overcome all of the losses—academic, social, and emotional—the pandemic has wrought.