The San Francisco school board on Tuesday voted to guarantee all elementary school children placement in their neighborhood school, replacing the district’s controversial lottery system after years of debate.
The change will be enacted by fall 2028.
Phil Kim, Jaime Huling, Matt Alexander, Lisa Weissman-Ward and Parag Gupta voted for the neighborhood school system, which would still let families apply to some schools with specific programs, like language immersion, K-8 classes and special education.
Alida Fisher and Supriya Ray voted against the policy.
Superintendent Maria Su, before the vote, openly endorsed the change, which she had repeatedly called “bold.”
Many families have blasted the San Francisco Unified School District’s lottery system, which assigns students to their elementary schools in a lottery but based on preferences, since it was implemented in 2011. They say it leaves them confused and frustrated.
The school board and district have been trying to develop a new system since 2018.
When developing the options, the district suggested that any new policy should be framed by “proximity, predictability, diversity, and choice” — though school board commissioners didn’t fully agree on “choice.”
Vice President Huling said that unrestricted school choice creates a lot of “adversity” in the district, and that the focus should instead be on ensuring schools have more resources. Parents often try to get their children into schools with higher test scores or better-funded schools.
But many families care a lot about choice. In September and October surveys conducted by the district, respondents expressed concern about neighborhood schools. One said the approach “boxes you in the most.”
Many audience members on Tuesday evening carried signs that read, “Listen to parents: Choose Option B,” which would have guarantee placement in a neighborhood school but let families apply to any other school in the district.
Tuesday’s vote came after several study sessions. At previous sessions, commissioners suggested the district needed more community outreach before a decision. Superintendent Su said the district wanted to set the framework and policy at the Oct. 13 meeting and would continue family engagement after that.
“I fully recognize that there’s a lot of fear and a lot of concern that we’re making significant changes without having these conversations already in place,” Su said. “But I want to again remind our community that we will be talking to communities about key pieces of this work.”
On Tuesday, during public comment, advocates who wanted more community involvement passed out pacifiers and hung up AI-generated photos of commissioners crying.
“I ask you to pause this process and listen to families that are going through this,” said Rosa, mother of a student at Denman Middle School. “Do not impose something without listening to our experiences and worries.”
Elaysia, a student at Ida B. Wells High School, said, “We don’t need transparency. We need communication … The board isn’t the ones impacted by the decisions they’re making.”
The room cheered.
“Stop trying to pacify us,” Elaysia added, draping a pacifier across the podium.
The superintendent’s endorsement of the neighborhood school option dismayed many, as did her pledge to equitably resource all neighborhood schools — something that SFUSD staff has said could take five to 10 years.
SF Parents Coalition executive director Rebecca Kee was among those advocating for more parent choice. “We as parents know our child’s strengths and the areas they need support and the needs of our family, whether that’s a location issue for our commutes, or a language we want our child to learn,” Kee said.
Commissioner Alexander said he appreciated Su for giving them a “North Star,” and said the options before the board were not too different. “I think there’s some very legitimate issues that we can take on regardless of which option we pick because they are on a spectrum,” he said.
Commissioner Fisher, though, said she struggled with the push toward neighborhood schools, after hearing parents advocate for the more flexible Option B.
“I appreciate this commitment aspirationally,” she said. “I, both as a parent and as a commissioner, struggle to see a buy-in.” And, Fisher added, “Neighborhood schools by definition will be segregated schools.”
Su pushed on. “Option B will keep the status quo,” Su said. Neighborhood schools, she said, “will require the district to be very intentional with how we resource our schools, and put the responsibility squarely on [the district] so that every single neighborhood school is worth choosing.”
The district has set three more public study sessions ahead of the final April 13, 2027 board vote to formally adopt the new policy. Over the next few months, SFUSD and the board will finalize details, including how applicants for specific citywide school programs will be selected.
“Neighborhood schools” is just segregation by another name. It’s shameful rich parents have so much control. But I suppose if the board had voted the other way, we’d all have to suffer through a year of billionaire backed “school board recalls” like we did in 2022. They’ll buy what they want one way or another. I’m so sick of rich people.
Resources aren’t the only reason parents choose a school. There is huge variety among SFUSD elementary schools in start time. What if you are assigned a school whose start time doesn’t work for your family? SFUSD needs to standardize start times to make this work.
Picking off the most unpopular and least effective progressive policies one by one. Now let’s get homeless industrial complex spending back to 2011 levels too.
I don’t know what the right answer is, or if there is one, but this is pretty clearly trying to keep “good schools” restricted to those who live in the neighborhood. Great if you can afford it!
bad news for private schools
It’s good this went down before November 3rd as people will know who reflects their interests when they vote for members of the school board.
Wonder what impact that will have on Sanchez Elementary. The school doesn’t look like the neighborhood at all
Nearly every major American city has school choice allowing families to go to schools in other neighborhoods based on a lottery: NYC, Boston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia are only some examples.
With this change, SF will be more restrictive than all of these cities. This is suburban mindset once again applied to a dense city. It will drive families away and result in further enrollment drops at SFUSD.
Removing choice is not bold. It’s hubris.
Mahdi, no, an end to the City’s de facto school busing policy will attract more students back to SFUSD. At the moment parents in many parts of the City will send their kids to a private school in their neighborhood rather than have them bussed across town. But if they are guaranteed a school within walking distance they will take it rather than going private. It will also remove thousands of cars off our streets during the current school rush hour.