Students, alumni and parents press SFUSD for clearer reporting and protections after walkouts

Students, alumni and parents told the San Francisco Board of Education on Nov. 9 that the district'a's response to recent reports of sexual assault and harassment has been insufficient and sometimes retraumatizing. Student delegates Joanna Lam and Agnes Ling opened the evening with a report that echoed walkout demands, calling for transparent tracking of reports, stronger protections for survivors and partnerships with community organizations to support a surge of students seeking help.

"We need more transparency with what happens after students have filed a claim," student delegate Joanna Lam said, asking the district to create a tracking system so survivors receive updates after they report incidents. The student delegates also urged the district to prohibit practices that force survivors to sit face-to-face with alleged assaulters during reporting or restorative processes and to ensure conflicts of placement are addressed promptly.

During the public comment period, multiple students and recent graduates recounted why they walked out of classes at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (SOTA), Lowell, Washington and other campuses. "Please do not take down the student posters that call out admin," one High School student said, describing posters as a tool to signal unaddressed harm. Another caller, a Lowell graduate, said "actions speak way louder than words" and urged the board to hold itself accountable for promises to keep students safe.

Teachers and parents also spoke. Chris Klaus, a special education teacher at Washington High School, called the current handling of placements and individualized education program (IEP) considerations "atrocious" when students are placed at sites that do not meet their needs. Several commenters urged the board to keep peer-resources and other youth-led prevention programs intact, warning that proposed budget cuts could remove supports students rely on.

Board members and staff pledged a mix of immediate and longer-term steps. District staff said investigators are working on recent incidents and that staff will meet with student delegates. Superintendent Matthews'a's office and student-and-family-services leaders said central-office social workers and wellness staff have been reassigned this week to schools experiencing heightened student need and that the district has added therapists at high schools as part of earlier investments.

Vice President Malinga asked staff to coordinate outreach and to ensure that community-based organizations are engaged so students who do come forward have access to services. Several commissioners requested that the district present a more detailed plan for near-term supports and a timeline for longer-term policy changes, including whether Title IX procedures and curriculum changes can be accelerated.

Next steps: the board said investigators are continuing work on the attack during the Equity Audit & Action Committee meeting and that staff will follow up with student leaders; commissioners asked staff to bring a plan for curricular and policy responses and to report back with more detailed timelines.

Provenance: Student-delegate demands and student public comments are documented in the Nov. 9 meeting public-comment record; district staff responses and short-term wellness deployments were reported during staff presentations and the ensuing board discussion.