I remember in this state when they demanded that teachers be put near the front of the line to get vaccines, just after health care workers and first responders and then immediately demanded that all learning be distance learning.
Then they have been having at least in this state wildcat school closures because of a lack of substitute teachers, and paid teachers taking time off due to the stress of actual class room teaching. This makes it hard on parents and the businesses the work for to stay open and not create staffing problems.
We are also starting to get some of the feedback on how badly children learned last year and how many wasted an entire academic year. The dilemma is do they try to provide extra tutoring, hold them back a year if they don't do well in standardized tests, or try to fake things and avoid standardized test and just all the kids to not learn what they need.
I had an irate parent take a student out of my class because I was making digital logic too hard. That kid was supposedly a top honors student, but failing my class. One third of the students were making an A.
Schools are petrified that parents will sue, so they water-down the academics to make grading easier. Most of this comes from county and state offices, not the teachers.
It seems to me that schools merely reflect the overall attitudes of the majority of our population: make it easy and free for me.
If you want your child to have a good education, do not "hang out with the pack". Homeschool them or take them to a school of proven quality.
I taught in high school for three years following retirement from an engineering career. I enjoyed teaching and got great help from the teachers and admin. It was an eye-opening experience. The creeping crud I saw coming made it easy to stop.