Decide & stage removal of waffle flag: `enableCourseOptimizerCheckPrevRunLinks`

• Flag name: enableCourseOptimizerCheckPrevRunLinks
• Flag details: Gates the "previous run links" sub-feature of the Course Optimizer — detects and updates internal links pointing to a previous course run after a rerun. Rendered inside the optimizer page, so it pairs naturally with enableCourseOptimizer (#3112).
• Removal date: It has been passed (2026-02-25).
• Current status: Currently disabled by default; can be enabled via the waffle flag contentstore.enable_course_optimizer_check_prev_run_links.

Note: Since this feature is rendered within the Course Optimizer page, it's advisable to coordinate removal of this flag alongside enableCourseOptimizer (#3112).

Feature Details

This flag controls a sub-feature of Course Optimizer: it gates the Previous Run Links section, which detects and replaces internal links that still point to a previous course run after a rerun.

Since enableCourseOptimizerCheckPrevRunLinks lives inside the Course Optimizer page, it has no effect unless enableCourseOptimizer is also on.

What to do in this ticket

1. Involve stakeholders / product owners to discuss and decide on the future of this flag.
2. If we decide to enable it by default:
   1. Enable it by default in openedx-platform.
   2. Roll it out and gather feedback from the community.
   3. As a follow-up step, remove the waffle flag controlling this feature — provided we confirm it should remain an out-of-the-box feature.

References

• Original feature PR: openedx/frontend-app-authoring#2356
• Flag PR: openedx/openedx-platform#37104

/cc @pganesh-apphelix @djoseph-apphelix @Faraz32123 — what are your thoughts on the removal of this flag?