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SFUSD Board approves Youth Vote curriculum, mock elections and a paid coordinator
Summary
The San Francisco Unified School District Board approved a resolution to implement a mandated voter-education curriculum for senior-level high school students, annual mock elections and student surveys, and accepted a $150,000 city contribution to hire a coordinator to run the program and outreach.
The San Francisco Unified School District Board on Oct. 23 approved a resolution directing the district, in collaboration with partners, to implement a voter-education curriculum for senior-level classes, hold an annual mock election and collect student-survey data. The Board vote recorded six ayes.
Supporters said the program will address low youth turnout and provide hands-on civic education. Commissioner (author of the resolution) and student delegates framed the measure as a city–district partnership: the city will provide $150,000 to fund a full-time coordinator to manage mock ballots, student surveys and outreach, while SFGovTV will produce an instructional video covering candidates and propositions for classroom use.
The resolution requires partner organizations to negotiate memoranda of understanding to support implementation; it also directs the district to make voter-registration materials accessible to eligible seniors who wish to register. Student delegates and groups including the League of Young Voters and the Youth Commission told the board the mock election and public release of results will help students see that participation matters and can spur family engagement.
Board members asked about logistics and timing. The board’s presentation noted a hard launch planned for February to coincide with presidential-primary activity and an accompanying press conference to publicize the youth vote results. The motion was amended to add the names of board members and student delegates to the resolution before the roll call.
A set of community partners — the Student Advisory Council, Youth Commission, Office of Teaching and Learning, Department of Children Youth and Families, the Mayor’s Office and SFGovTV — were cited in the text as implementation partners. The measure calls for data from the mock elections to be announced publicly and for the district to use student surveys as an official measure of student needs and opinions.
The next step identified at the meeting: the district and partners will complete memoranda of understanding, hire the coordinator funded by the city contribution, and prepare materials and a timeline for the February launch.
