Supervisors hold hearing after SFUSD misses special-education hires; city offers short-term support

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors convened a Committee of the Whole on Oct. 1 to examine why San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) special-education positions were not staffed at the start of the 2024–25 school year and how roughly $20 million to $30 million in special-education budget authority went uncommitted.

The hearing, called by Supervisor Joel Safaie, brought SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne; Board of Education President Matt Alexander; Maria Hsu, director of the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF); and city officials who described immediate and longer-term steps to restore staffing and assess what caused the lapse.

Why it matters: SFUSD serves about 49,000 students and the district’s special-education budget this year is roughly $224 million. Many students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) receive services in general-education classrooms, so vacant special-education teachers and paraprofessionals can affect a wide swath of students. Parents, educators and advocates said missing or late services have already harmed students’ learning and asked for clear remedies and accountability.

What city officials said: Maria Hsu said Mayor Breed established a city “school stabilization team” to help…