Report on the Actions of the Board of Education on Safely Reopening
Families for San Francisco has been researching the Board of Education’s actions regarding their duty to safely reopening San Francisco’s public schools. Today, we are releasing our findings in a fact-based report, titled “Lessons from One Year of Distance Learning.” The main finding in this report is that the Board of Education has made multiple missteps in preparing and planning for a safe reopening, leaving families confused and frustrated with unclear, incomplete information.
Parents and students have consistently asked the Board of Education Commissioners — through public comment, direct communications, and public pressure campaigns — to create clear and comprehensive plans to bring students back to the classroom. While the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year (March 13 - June 2) was correctly used to support students and families during distance learning, the number one priority for the 2020-2021 academic year should have been reopening safely. Yet, it wasn’t. Only two Board of Education Commissioners, Jenny Lam and Kevin Boggess had reopening as their number one (or number two) priority listed on January 5, 2021.
It has been over a year since our public schools first closed, yet there is still no plan to reopen middle and high schools. Commissioners haven't even committed to a full reopening in the fall. We encourage you to read our report and share our findings. Together, we must continue pushing for concrete plans for a safe, full reopening of all our public schools on day one of the 2021-2022 academic year.
Lesson 1: The Board of Education did not understand the magnitude of the challenge before them. An analysis of the June 9th meeting