Board finds textbooks sufficient in core subjects but notes gaps in language and health materials

The San Francisco Unified School District Board held a public hearing Oct. 9 to determine the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials for the 2007–08 school year as required by Education Code §60119.

District staff told the board that the district had obtained sufficient materials in the four core areas — mathematics, science, history/social science and English language arts — and that high schools had laboratory equipment available for science courses. The staff reported, however, that foreign language and health classes did not yet have enough copies for students to take textbooks home; schools had sufficient class sets for in-class use.

Mark DeFoya Young of the Education Equity Project at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (co-counsel on Williams v. State) praised the district’s effort to meet the Williams sufficiency standard, urged the district to retain staff overseeing the effort and encouraged broader sharing of the district’s textbook survey instrument.

Board members questioned staff about recent deliveries and statutory remedies for late shipments. Staff said publishers had delivered fourth-grade science materials by the previous Friday after a printing delay and noted Title 5 rules that allow a $500 penalty per working day past the 60-day delivery window in extraordinary cases.

The board adopted a resolution recording the finding of sufficiency for the core subjects while noting shortages for certain foreign-language and health materials and directed staff to continue monitoring deliveries and needs for upcoming adoptions.