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Students and Teachers Urge Board to Revise Youth‑Vote Resolution; Item Sent to Curriculum Committee
Summary
Students and history‑department chairs told the San Francisco Board of Education on May 22 that the board’s draft Youth Vote resolution omits teacher‑recommended classroom time and key elements of a memorandum of understanding; the board referred the resolution to the curriculum committee for further work.
The San Francisco Board of Education held a first reading May 22 of a resolution urging the district to implement a youth‑vote program and an annual voting curriculum in high schools and then referred the item to the curriculum committee for further development.
Pete Hammer, the district’s history and social studies content specialist, told the board that teachers and students worry about rushing classroom instruction before students are ready. "Asking students to vote on candidates for public office and local and state referendums when they lack sufficient understanding of the issues has the potential, if not done properly, to discourage their participation in the political process rather than encourage it," Hammer said.
Teresa Quinlan, History Social Science Department Chair at Burton High School, said the draft before the board mandates two days of instruction while teachers and students recommend three. "The resolution before you tonight mandates 2 days of instruction on voting and election issues, not the 3 recommended by both the students and the department chairs," Quinlan said, and urged the board to refer the item to curriculum committee so teachers can be consulted.
Student leaders from the Student Advisory Council (SAC) also urged changes. Max Neal, the SAC public relations officer, said the version on the board’s agenda is not the SAC‑approved resolution and removes elements the SAC and department chairs negotiated in a memorandum of understanding. Alvin Rivera, SAC president and a senior at Mission High School, expressed concern that a new youth‑vote coordinator’s job description duplicates SAC work and that the district’s simplified curriculum for younger high‑school grades should be retained.
President Sanchez said the board would send the resolution to curriculum — and possibly to budget — committees for further review and public input. No final vote was taken on the substance of the resolution at the May 22 meeting; the referral means staff and board members will revisit the proposal in committee with the teachers and students who testified.
Next steps: the curriculum committee will schedule discussion and the board will be updated on whether the item also requires review by the budget committee.
