SF Judge Won't Order SFUSD to Reopen in Person

A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Thursday said he will not issue a preliminary injunction against the San Francisco Unified School District and Board of Education to force them to reopen public schools as soon as possible.

The lawsuit was brought on by City Attorney Dennis Herrera last month and alleged the school district was in violation of state law for keeping schools closed for in-person learning for nearly a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

Although Herrera sought a preliminary injunction to force the district and school board to come up with a plan to reopen schools for all students for the remainder of the school year, Judge Ethan Schulman denied the request.

In his ruling, Schulman said there would be "no purpose" in issuing a preliminary injunction at this point, since the district earlier this month already unveiled plans to return elementary school students to in-person learning in waves, starting on April 12.

Schulman cited a current state law recently enacted by Assembly Bill 86, noting it encourages school districts to return students to in-person learning for the remainder of the school year, but doesn't require it.

Despite his ruling, Schulman acknowledged, "There can be no doubt as to the adverse effects of the past year on learning, particularly for students from our neediest and most vulnerable communities, not to mention the economic, emotional and physical burdens on students, parents, families, teachers and district staff."

"This lawsuit has served as nothing but a superficial distraction from the work to safely return San Francisco's public school students to in-person learning," SFUSD Superintendent Vincent Matthews said in a statement. "Based on family responses to date, we expect to serve over 20,000 students in person by the end of April. We are working around the clock to return students to school sites and serve them in distance learning."

In addition to reopening elementary schools in waves on April 12, the district said Wednesday that it would reopen middle schools and high schools on April 26, but only for special day classes and the district's focal populations, which include newcomer students, foster youth, students who live in public housing, homeless students and students with limited online engagement.

"Obviously this was not the decision we hoped for, and we vehemently disagree with the court's reasoning. It's disheartening for us and for all the San Francisco families who have suffered under a year of remote learning," Herrera said in a statement. "While we're heartened that at least some students will have the opportunity to go back to school next month, it is still unacceptable to have no real plan for middle and high school students."

— Bay City News