School Board To Explore New School Assignment Options

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The San Francisco Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously voted on a resolution to develop a new way to assign the city's children to public schools.

The resolution "Developing a Community Based Student Assignment System for San Francisco Unified School District" calls on district staff to look into new ways to assign newly enrolled students to schools.

Currently the district uses a choice-based lottery system in which students and parents list their preferred schools and then wait to find out if they've been assigned there. If not, students and parents can reapply to their preferred school in a second round lottery.

Critics have long complained that the district's lottery system, first implemented in 2011, is complicated and bothersome.

"This is an exciting time to rethink student assignment," school board president Stevon Cook said in a statement. "Together we are going to create a system that ensures confidence, is easy to understand and offers predictability to our families."

According to the resolution, the new system would focus on elementary schools and would be crafted in a way that would increase fairness as well as transparency. The resolution also aims to help students get into schools that are closer to their homes and easier to access via public
transportation.

As the new policy is being developed, district officials are expected to conduct extensive outreach and gather feedback from other district advisory boards, families, staff and community members.

District Superintendent Vincent Matthews has been tasked with developing a recommendation for the new assignment policy and implementing a plan to roll it out. He's also been tasked with conducting an analysis of transportation needs and plans with regards to the student assignments.

The resolution was authored by commissioners Matt Haney and Rachel Norton and co-sponsored by Cook and board vice president Mark Sanchez.

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— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock