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Parents and CAC press SFUSD to expand phonological-processing pilot and fix gaps for students with IEPs
Summary
CAC leaders told the board that students with IEPs make up about 12% of SFUSD enrollment (~7,000 students) and flagged low SBAC proficiency (12% in grade 11 math) and low UC-readiness (about 30%). The CAC asked the district to scale the phonological-processing pilot beyond 10 schools, strengthen co-teaching and staffing stability, and improve social-emotional supports.
Members of the district's Community Advisory Committee on Special Education and parents delivered a detailed special-education briefing, urging the San Francisco Board of Education to scale reading interventions and commit sustained staffing and training to serve students with disabilities.
Alita Fisher, CAC chair, and other committee speakers said special-education students are about 12 percent of the district's enrollment — roughly 7,000 students — and most receive services in general education settings. The committee highlighted outcomes that it called "alarming": among 11th graders with IEPs, only about 12 percent reached SBAC math proficiency; only about 30 percent of students with IEPs were considered UC-ready, the CAC said.
The CAC recommended expanding evidence-based approaches rather than creating new programs from scratch. The committee praised the district's phonological-processing pilot that served 10 schools and urged that successful site practices be scaled districtwide. Fisher described challenges including staffing instability among special-education personnel and recent changes in service coding that she said obscure the time paraeducators spend supporting students.
Parents at the meeting testified to the emotional toll of delayed or ineffective interventions. One parent described long hours of tutoring and the strain on family relationships when early reading needs went unmet. Public commenters and union representatives told the board that many families cannot afford private tutoring and that early identification and structured literacy are essential for students with dyslexia and related learning differences.
Outcome and next steps: Board members thanked the CAC and asked staff for additional background and cost estimates for recommended interventions. Commissioners asked staff to report back with budget implications and information on existing contracts that fund out-of-district tutoring under individual IEP compensatory-education arrangements.
