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Board hears Williams Act compliance report, adopts resolution finding instructional materials sufficient
Summary
After a public hearing required by the Williams Act, Chief Academic Officer Nicole Priestley reported that site leaders returned approved textbook surveys and materials were ordered and delivered; the board adopted the Williams Act sufficiency resolution following public questions about adaptive materials and distribution during distance learning.
The San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education held a public hearing Oct. 6 and adopted a resolution finding that textbooks and instructional materials required by Education Code Section 60119 were sufficient districtwide.
Chief Academic Officer Nicole Priestley told the board that the district emailed an approved textbook survey to K–12 site leaders, received returned surveys by September, placed orders and delivered materials to school sites. She told the board that the Williams survey does not capture some materials for special populations, such as multisensory licensed software or digital text-to-speech tools that parents and advocates asked about during public comment.
Alita Fisher, advocacy chair for the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education, asked whether Williams sufficiency includes appropriate scaffolds, modifications and licenses for students with disabilities. Priestley said those materials are not part of the Williams survey; staff will follow up with Jean Robertson (if present) and return with information about processes schools use to identify and meet special-population needs. Board members asked staff to provide a tracking instrument showing how materials distributed for distance learning reach vulnerable families; Priestley committed to follow up, aiming to provide information by the next board meeting.
Roll-call vote: The roll call recorded the following votes (as read aloud): Collins – No; Cook – Yes; Lam – Yes; Lopez – No; Maliga/Malaga – No; Norton – Yes; Sanchez – Yes; Hines Foster – No; Gloria Almanza – No. The clerk recorded four votes in the affirmative. The board president declared the public hearing and adoption closed.
Why this matters: Williams Act compliance is a state requirement intended to ensure that students have required instructional materials. During distance learning, parents and board members raised questions about whether the Williams process captures the adaptive and digital materials students with disabilities may need and how schools are tracking distribution to families.
What happens next: Staff committed to providing a district-level tracking instrument and additional information about how schools identify and provide special-population materials, with a targeted follow-up by the next board meeting.
