Board orders equity audit and immediate changes at Lowell High, votes to end selective admissions

The San Francisco Board of Education voted to require an equity audit and to move Lowell High School to the district’s regular admissions process, the board announced after a marathon public hearing on Feb. 9.

Student leaders from Lowell and civil‑rights and educator groups framed the resolution as an urgent remedy to what they called entrenched racial exclusion and repeated failures to protect Black students. Rev. Jesse Brown, speaking for the NAACP and other faith and civil‑rights groups, urged the board to act quickly and convene a community coalition to oversee the audit and follow‑up work.

The resolution, co‑authored by student delegates and several commissioners, calls for an external equity audit and an action plan to address “toxic racist abuse” of students of color at Lowell. It directs district staff to execute a memorandum of understanding with an outside partner — the Education and Civil Rights Initiative in partnership with the NAACP — to convene a community coalition and produce public findings by Sept. 1, 2021. The coalition will be asked to examine Lowell’s history, school culture, discipline, curriculum and placement of staff and supports.

“The students have been clear and consistent,” said Linda Jordan of the Alliance of Black School Educators during public testimony. “We support all 23 demands that have been laid out by the Lowell Black Student Union.” Student delegates read the board document aloud during the meeting and dozens of alumni, parents, educators and community groups came forward in the meeting’s structured public comment period to offer support or objections.

Opponents warned that an immediate switch to lottery admissions could have unintended effects and urged a deliberative process. Several speakers and board members said they wanted more time for additional community engagement and to consider how district‑wide investments in middle and elementary schools could improve pathways into Lowell. Professor Vincent, representing the Education and Civil Rights Initiative, told the board an independent audit could provide a data‑driven path forward and help reconcile competing community views.

When the motion reached the roll call the board recorded five votes in favor and two opposed; the resolution passed. The board recorded yes votes from Commissioners Alexander, Collins, Maliga, Sanchez and President Lopez; Commissioners Bogus and Lam voted no.

What happens next: The resolution directs the district to fund and convene an external equity audit led by the named external partner in collaboration with NAACP chapters and local affinity groups. The coalition is charged with producing recommendations and a public report by Sept. 1, 2021. The board also directed staff to present a plan to use philanthropy and other outside funding to underwrite the audit and the community coalition’s work.

Board members said the measure is the opening step toward broader district reforms. “This is a start,” one commissioner said during debate. “But what matters now is that the follow‑through is real and rapid.”