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Students win board backing to join multiagency planning for free Muni youth pilot
Summary
The Board of Education amended and approved a student-written resolution urging SFUSD to join city agencies in designing, funding and launching a pilot for free Muni passes for youth; members added wording to emphasize interagency planning and to avoid committing district funds.
The San Francisco Board of Education on Oct. 11 approved an amended student-written resolution that asks the district to join the mayor's office, SFMTA and other agencies in designing and launching a pilot program to provide free Muni passes to San Francisco youth.
Student delegates Chris Atom and Joyce Singh read a resolution citing survey data on youth Muni ridership and noting the elimination of many school buses that has increased students' dependence on public transit. The original resolves "supported" free Muni fast passes for all youth; during debate board members and staff expressed concern that an unqualified endorsement could be read as a commitment of district funds at a time of budget constraints.
Commissioner Sandra Lee Feuer and others proposed language changes to clarify the board's role. The board agreed to amend the first resolved clause to "support the idea of" free youth Muni passes and to adopt language from a Board of Supervisors resolution (authored by Supervisor David Campos) asking agencies to "work collaboratively to design, secure funding for and launch a program with a clear timeline." The second resolved clause was revised to say San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) will "join" or "participate in" interagency planning rather than unilaterally commit funding or staff resources.
Student delegates said they had collected more than 2,100 signatures in support and urged the board to be at the table. Commissioners praised the students' work while several asked staff to clarify funding sources and to protect school budgets. Board members noted that prior pilots and contributions from MTA and other partners had covered some startup costs; staff said MTA provided $1.2 million for a pilot and that overall pilot costs were estimated in the range of $6 million to $8 million.
After the wording changes and a motion to amend, the board approved the resolution as amended by general consent and then by roll call (vote recorded as five ayes). The resolution urges the SFMTA, SFUSD, County Transportation Authority and Metropolitan Transportation Commission to work with community groups to design, secure funding and launch a pilot providing free Muni access to city youth, and it directs the district to participate in that work.
The approved language intentionally leaves implementation details, target populations and funding mechanisms to the interagency planning process. Board members asked staff to remain clear publicly that SFUSD's approval signals a willingness to participate in planning — not an immediate district financial commitment.
Next steps outlined in discussion: the district will receive and circulate the final amended resolution text, designate staff to be at planning discussions, and monitor Supervisor Campos' proposed companion resolution at the Board of Supervisors.
