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SFUSD board approves health-and-safety MOUs, green-lights special-education assessment center as reopening plans advance
Summary
The board agreed to tentative health-and-safety standards for reopening and ratified a UESF memorandum enabling a district-run special-education assessment center, while staff detailed testing, vaccine coordination, and instructional models for an eventual phased return to classrooms.
Board President Lopez and Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said the district is stepping up operational planning for a phased return to in-person instruction while keeping classrooms safe.
The board ratified a tentative memorandum of understanding with labor partners that sets baseline health-and-safety standards tied to San Francisco’s tier system. Under the agreement, testing and vaccination access will be scaled by tier: red-tier reopening includes regular asymptomatic testing for staff and students reporting in person, plus eligibility and opportunities for staff vaccination at the recommended dosage; orange and yellow tiers have different testing expectations. Chief of Labor Greg John described the MOU as intended "to ensure the safe reopening of schools and worksites for in-person learning." The board voted to ratify the health-and-safety MOU.
District leaders also announced a staffing and program plan for special-education assessments. Superintendent Matthews and staff described a district-run assessment center to be based at John O’Connell High School that will prioritize incomplete and overdue evaluations, using volunteer and paid specialists (school psychologists, RSP teachers, therapy teams) to clear backlogs that have accumulated during the pandemic. UESF and special-education staff told the board they backed the arrangement; a number of special-education teachers and parent advisory representatives urged rapid implementation.
Superintendent Matthews walked the board through the district’s decision tree for reopening, which is driven by city/county directives, community spread and vaccination availability. Staff described three instructional models: 100% distance, hybrid (some days in person, some remote), and 100% in-person (prioritized for youngest learners and students with intensive needs). The district said it has relaunched on-site testing, issued an RFP that drew 17 proposals for surveillance testing, and is coordinating with San Francisco’s Department of Public Health on vaccination timing for educators.
On assessments, board members and special-education advocates stressed urgency: "We have 800 kids who have gone almost a year without being able to be assessed," said a CAC representative in public comment. Staff said the assessment center will begin with prioritized cases and that more details — including staffing and scheduling — will follow as the MOU is implemented.
The board concluded that the MOUs and assessment commitments are necessary steps for reopening while urging staff to return with implementation timelines and a clear plan for protecting continuity of services for students with IEPs.
