When Gov. Larry Hogan tightened his executive order to start all public schools after Labor Day, he blocked some educators from wiggling out of the mandate by seeking waivers. But members of the state school board may have stumbled on a loophole.

Most colleges and universities send their entering classes a list of books to read during the summer. It provides common ground for the frosh to discuss new ideas with each other and faculty during orientation.

The nagging problem of significant numbers of youth leaving school unprepared for career employment has revitalized interest in vocational education, particularly apprenticeships. Support for vocational education comes from people across the political spectrum, from both labor and business groups, and from the popular media. The clearest manifestation in policy is President Trump’s executive order that calls for immediate expansion of existing apprenticeship programs while simultaneously disparaging the effectiveness of current education and training programs.

The longtime Democratic lawmaker John Vasconcellos is resting in peace since his death in 2014, but the educational disaster he laid on California in the 1980s is far from gone. Indeed, its likeness thrives today across a broad swath of America’s K-12 schooling, supported by foundation grants, federal funding, and both nonprofit and for-profit advocacy groups. Only its name has changed—from self-esteem to social-emotional learning.