SF Board of Education Commits to Returning All Students to Full-Time In-Person Learning for Fall 2021

Posted Date

SF Board of Education Commits to Returning All Students to Full-Time In-Person Learning for Fall 2021

Press Release

San Francisco (April 7, 2021) - The San Francisco Board of Education voted unanimously on Tuesday for all San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) students to have the option to return to full-time in-person school starting the first day of the 2021-2022 academic school year, assuming public health guidelines allow. The resolution “A Commitment to Returning Students to In-Person Learning by the First Day of School Year 2021-22” was introduced by Commissioner Jenny Lam.

The resolution affirms the SF Board of Education’s “firm intention to ensure all students are able to attend full-time, 5 days a week, in-person learning on the first day of school, August 2021.”

“This past year has been full of uncertainty and I hope this unanimous resolution makes it clear that we are united in our commitment to provide full-time in-person school,” said Commissioner Lam, the resolution’s sponsor. “The work of getting all of our students back by next fall is our number one priority.” 

“We look forward to building on what we’ve been able to implement, understanding in-person learning is what we are all striving for while balancing all known risks and rights during our planning for the next school year,” said SF Board of Education President Gabriela Lopez.

“We appreciate all educators, staff, students, parents, and caregivers for their resiliency and all the effort that has gone into supporting distanced learning this past year. We also appreciate the many who are now executing a safe and gradual reopening for some of our PK-12 students this spring,” said Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews. “We are making progress and look forward to a new beginning next fall that serves all of our students the way we do best –– in our schools.”

SFUSD staff will work in collaboration with the labor partners representing educators and other staff, as well as families, to plan for full-time in-person return. SFUSD will adhere to any public health guidelines that will be in place in the fall, assuming that COVID-19 community transmission rates continue to decline. The District will also work on backup plans that adhere to anticipated public health guidelines in the event that community transmission rates rise.

Remote learning will be considered as an option for students who cannot return to in-person learning for medical reasons, as well as for students who may benefit from remote learning for social-emotional, academic reasons or other factors.

In the resolution, the SF Board of Education commits to identify additional educational and social emotional learning supports that prioritize the needs of foster youth, homeless students, students at risk of neglect or abuse, English learners, low-income students, students with disabilities, Black, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Indigenous students. 

Read the full resolution here.

About SFUSD

SFUSD is the seventh largest school district in California, educating over 56,000 preK-12 students every year. San Francisco is both a city and a county; therefore, SFUSD administers both the school district and the San Francisco County Office of Education (COE). This makes SFUSD a “single district county.”

More information regarding SFUSD’s preparations for in-person learning:

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