#De Blasio admits failure on NYC school-reopening plan, so open ASAP

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem — so give Mayor de Blasio some credit for his confession Wednesday.

“Honestly, I have to hold myself responsible,” de Blasio said when asked why there is no plan to reopen schools. “The better situation would have been, clearly, to have that plan all worked through in advance.”

OK, thanks for the candor. Now what are you going to do about it?

The “3 percent rule” — that schools could only stay open if the city’s rolling average of positive COVID cases was below that level — was always an arbitrary, ridiculous benchmark. It punishes children for the maskless weddings and protests that spread the disease, even as schools remain quite safe.

In New York City, the infection rate in schools is below 0.2 percent. The return worked. And the benefits for children of in-person vs. online learning is immeasurable, research has found.

To his credit, de Blasio understands this. Which is why he faced down a teachers-union backlash to push for in-person classes. Though, as usual, the ability of the Department of Education to get it together was scattershot.

But it happened. After stalling and mixed messages, the schools opened.

Now they must stay open. Don’t dither about what “the plan” is — you had a plan going. Reopen Monday. Get kids back at their desks. Deal with the outbreaks where they are happening, protect the elderly and infirm. Push United Federation of Teachers President Mike Mulgrew, who already admitted a citywide shutdown wasn’t necessarily wise, to get on board.

Admitting the problem isn’t enough. You’ve got to fix it.