SF Sues Its Own School District

Thanks to SF Chronicle for breaking the news that San Francisco is the first in the state, and possibly the entire United States, to sue its own school district.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera is bringing forth a lawsuit against both the San Francisco school district and the Board of Education for their failure to reopen schools. According to SFGate, the first step in the process is to issue a preliminary injunction to compel the district to have an “appropriate plan” for in-person learning.

In a statement, Herrera said, “Unfortunately, the leadership of the school district and the educators’ union can’t seem to get their act together. The Board of Education and the school district have had more than 10 months to roll out a concrete plan to get these kids back in school. So far they have earned an F. Having a plan to make a plan doesn’t cut it.”

Herrera’s argues the students have experienced “significant learning loss due to school closures,” due to the lack of accommodations by the district.

Mayor London Breed has stated she is in support of the lawsuit especially for the students who are at a greater disadvantage such as the city’s homeless youth, those with disabilities, or those whose learning English. District data has proven that the distance learning has hit students of color and students whose families have lower incomes the hardest.

Herrera has said, “It’s a shame it has come to this… Our lawsuit is based on the law. It’s not based on a political calculation or a policy initiative that other folks have tried. This is really simple, and it’s focused,” he said. “It’s in everybody’s interest to have kids back in school.”