Upcoming Board of Education Meetings

The Board of Education holds its penultimate regular meeting tonight!

Regular Meeting of the Board of Education: 6:00 PM

Agenda for the meeting here.

Action Items

  • Nine board policies will be voted on tonight: most are amendments to existing policies. Here is the rundown:

    • Board Policy 5127, Graduation Ceremonies and Activities

      • Amendment to Board graduation policy now includes verbiage that allows Native American tribal regalia as long as it does not disrupt the ceremony and was cleared at least 14 days before.

    • Board Policy 3260, Fees & Charges

      • Amendment to Board policy involving the recovery of debts owed to the District from parents/guardians but not through negative actions against the students themselves. Examples of negative actions include denying the student full participation in the classroom, withholding a diploma, or excluding the student from extracurricular activities.

    • Board Policy 3515.4, Recovery for Property Loss or Damage

      • In a situation when SFUSD property is knowingly and willingly damaged, the District will seek reimbursement from the parent/guardian of a minor child or from other responsible individuals. The District can also offer rewards to find the persons responsible.

    • Board Policy 6190, Evaluation of Instructional Program

      • Deletion of section on Federal Program Monitoring in the Evaluation of Instructional Program in order to better reflect the policy focus

    • Board Policy 6145.2, Athletic Competition

      • Amendment to Board Athletic Competition Policy that adds requirement to set emergencies action plans in the case of cardiac arrest or other medical emergencies.

    • Board Policy 4030, Nondiscrimination in Employment

      • Rewording of Nondiscrimination in Employment policy in order to better reflect new legal mandates.

    • Board Policy 1312.1, Complaints Concerning District Employees

      • Includes clarification of what complaints are eligible to be addressed under this policy, and what alternative complaint procedures are available for reports of child abuse, uniform complaints, and employment discrimination and harassment. There is also new material regarding the investigation policy of the complaints.

    • Board Policy 6170.1, Transitional Kindergarten

      • New board policy revolves around Transitional Kindergarten, a two -year kindergarten program for children who turn 5 between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2. This proposal rolls out eligibility and curriculum information.

    • Board Policy 1312.3, Uniform Complaint Procedures

      • Current policy is being revised to add new complaint categories that must be investigated through the Uniform Complaint Procedure, and to make clear that Williams Complaints also covers Health and Safety Violations in preschools.

  • One resolution is up for a vote - it is a proposal from the Superintendent’s revise the Charter of San Francisco Sheriff’s Five Keys Charter School to expand to additional locations outside of the city. Five Keys was started by the SF Sheriff’s Department in 2003 as the first charter school for incarcerated adults. It has expanded and continues to serve Transitional Age Youth and adults in a variety of settings.

  • Board commissioners will vote to approve new members to the Parent Advisory Council and the Childcare Planning and Advisory Council.

  • The Board of Education will vote to approve updated reclassification criteria: these are the steps that must be taken for a students who is identified upon entering school as an “English Learner” to be reclassified as proficient in English. There is a proposed change in one of the criteria related to required test scores. District staff will give a presentation on the proposed change and also show data on this year’s rates of reclassification within SFUSD. The presentation is here.

  • The Board will vote to approve all school Balanced Scorecards submitted by school site councils, These planning documents are all available to view as attachments to agenda item H 4. Some schools that have been identified as Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools (CSI) - a new designation under the recently updated Federal education code - have submitted required preliminary School Plans for Student Achievement.

Informational Items

  • Update on the African American Achievement and Leadership Initiative (AAALI). Staff will present on history, current projects and plans for the 2019-2020 school year. You can view the slides here.

Introduction of Items for First Reading

  • The Superintendent will be putting forth his first reading of the fiscal year 2019-2020 Recommended SFUSD Budget and SFUSD Local Control and Accountability Plan and will be making a recommendation in support of the SFUSD Arts Education Master Plan Refresh, for first reading and Assignment to Committee.

Public Comment

There is always an opportunity for public comment at school board meetings.

At regular meetings, speakers may speak to any item being voted on or may give general public comment during the time reserved for "Public Comment on General Matters." This item has recently been moved earlier on the agenda, so if you wish to speak, make sure you arrive by 6PM! Speakers must sign up in advance, either by calling the board office at (415) 241-6493 or filling out a speaker card at the meeting and handing it to Esther Casco, the executive assistant to the board, who sits next to the podium. Speaker cards must be turned in before the agenda item being spoken to is officially "called."

At committee meetings, those wishing to speak may sign up in advance or simply approach the podium when the committee chair calls for public comment.

Members of the public are typically allowed two minutes to speak, but the time given may be shorter if there are a large number of speakers.

Recording and Live Coverage of Meetings

You can access recordings of regular and committee meetings.

Video recordings of regular meetings (not available for committee meetings)

Audio recordings of committee meetings (click where it says "audio recording," under the meeting agenda)

Recordings are usually posted a few days after the meeting.

Regular board meetings are also broadcast live on KALWSFGOVTV2, and via live webcast.

Follow our live-tweet coverage of Tuesday’s meeting on our new BoardWatch Twitter @PPSSFBoardWatch #BoardWatch!