SFUSD students present sexual-harassment toolkit; board and staff pledge distribution

Two SFUSD students presented a student-created toolkit on March 1 designed to help peers understand rights and access support for sexual harassment and assault. Zoe and Whitney, student leaders in the district peer program they identified as YAWAVE (also referenced in the record with variant spellings), told the Board of Education the slide-based toolkit includes multiple accessibility formats, a narrated transcript, and links to outside professional resources.

The students said the resource is aimed at about 16,279 SFUSD high‑school students and described plans for relationship-building with each high school’s administration and wellness staff to make the toolkit available for workshops and homeroom use. “16,279 is the number of students that attend SFUSD public high schools and it was the demographic that we are trying to reach,” one presenter said.

The district’s Office of Equity responded that staff already have taken steps to address student demands, including a December response describing reporting options, investigation procedures and references to Title IX and the California Education Code. Kiki Williams, executive director in the Office of Equity, told the board the office has launched a Title IX student advisory group and provides training to educators, administrators and wellness staff. Williams said the formal Title IX complaint process for the most serious complaints can take 60 to 90 days but that reports handled under the district’s bullying and harassment policy can move more quickly.

Student Delegate Lam and multiple commissioners thanked the students and pressed staff to make the toolkit broadly available. Commissioners and the superintendent committed to distributing the resource through the LEAD newsletter, principal huddles and site‑level wellness centers and to follow up with a staff report on implementation. “We are going to share that with our site leaders through our LEAD news and also, through our principal huddles,” a board member said.

Public commenters and board members also raised campus incidents and recent student walkouts as evidence of a continued gap between students and adults; several asked the district to clarify reporting steps and to ensure survivors are not forced to directly communicate with alleged perpetrators during investigations. Staff said they would investigate reports that police were called at a recent protest and provide an update to the board.

The board recorded no formal vote tied to the student presentation; commissioners said they expect continued collaboration with the students and district staff and committed to follow-up reporting on distribution and usage plans.