Two weeks after San Francisco's school board voted 5-2 to replace the elementary school lottery with neighborhood-based assignments, a wide range of parent and advocacy groups are pushing back, Mission Local reports.
Why it matters: The change would decide how SF elementary students are assigned starting with the 2028-29 school year, and final policy details are still being written.
What the board approved
Under the plan, every family would be assigned a neighborhood school based on home address, while still being able to apply for citywide programs, SFUSD said. A draft policy is due in March 2027 and a final vote is set for April 13, 2027.
The criticism
Coleman Advocates, the NAACP and Chinese for Affirmative Action have come out against the plan, with some calling it segregation. "This school board did not stop to look and listen to the Black and brown community," the Rev. Amos Brown told Mission Local.
The San Francisco Parents Coalition is also unhappy. District staff have said fully implementing a plan to resource every school fairly could take five to 10 years. "If they're doing it, we need it now," said Roberto Guzman Rivera, PTA president at Guadalupe Elementary.
The district's response
Superintendent Maria Su acknowledged past broken promises but argued neighborhood schools will force fairer funding. Parents for Public Schools has asked the district to pause for more community input, and a parent petition demands an equity plan before enrollment changes.