SFUSD Narrows Its Lottery Replacement to Two Plans That Both Guarantee a Neighborhood School

San Francisco Unified is getting closer to ending the elementary school lottery that has decided kindergarten placements for years. The school board has cut its list of replacement plans from three to two, and both remaining options would guarantee each family a seat at the neighborhood school tied to their home address, The San Francisco Standard reports. The new system would apply to children entering kindergarten or transitional kindergarten in fall 2028 or later.

How it works today

Under the current system, families can rank any number of schools across the city, and an algorithm hands out seats using tiebreakers. The strongest is CTIP1, often called the "golden ticket," which gives students from parts of the city with historically low test scores priority at any school they list, ahead of nearby families. Stanford researchers who studied district applications found that in recent years 96% of main-round applicants got a school on their list and 67% got their first choice.

The board voted in 2018 to scrap the lottery after it failed to reduce socioeconomic segregation, and it adopted a zone-based plan in 2020 that was never carried out.

The two options left

The board dropped Option A, which would have grouped three to five nearby schools into small zones. Option B guarantees a neighborhood seat to families who apply on time and lets them apply to any other school in the city as well. Seats not claimed in the main round could go to other families, so a late applicant's neighborhood school might fill up.

Option C guarantees the neighborhood school even for late applicants, but the only other choices would be citywide programs such as language immersion and K-8 schools. District staff rated it the easiest to run.

Staff estimate roughly 370 families apply late each year, and about 7 in 10 of them live near schools that are not in high demand. Stanford simulations found that under Option C, 48% of students would attend a school within half a mile, compared with 40% under B and 35% today. Option B would lift the share getting their first choice to 70% if the district adds diversity categories, while under C it would fall to 54%.

Either way, the district plans to redraw attendance boundaries. Families can follow the process on SFUSD's student assignment page.