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Board hears charter petition for Universal Access High School focused on high‑need students
Summary
At a public hearing, San Diego Unified staff described a petition from Health Sciences High and Middle College to open Universal Access High School as a non‑classroom‑based school for high‑need students; students and partners urged the board to support the partnership. Staff will return with a recommendation.
The San Diego Unified Board of Education on April 14 held a public hearing on a charter petition to establish Universal Access High School, a proposed partnership between Health Sciences High and Middle College (HSHMC) and a new operator intended to serve students with high needs and complex life circumstances.
Deidra Walsh, director of the district’s Charter Schools Office, told the board the district received the petition on March 2 and that the school proposes to operate as a 100% non‑classroom‑based program beginning in August 2026 and to seek Dashboard Alternative School (DAS) status when state criteria permit. Walsh said district staff will review the petition and bring a recommendation back to the board at a later date.
Supporters, including school leaders and several current and former students, described the model as tailored to students who have experienced housing instability, juvenile‑justice involvement or severe trauma. “I was in a really dark place, in and out of juvenile hall for multiple charges… I have a school now and a support system that changed how I think, how I act, and the direction of my life,” said Andrew Papaquai, a student who testified in favor of the petition.
Dr. Beth Fisher, introduced during public comment as the director of the district’s ISP program and a leader in the proposed model, framed the petition as a pilot that could yield lessons to replicate supports across district high schools: “When support is structured for these conditions, those who have put survival first… restore momentum to change their lives,” she said.
Walsh told the board that a separate charter petition was preferred because a seat‑based charter limits independent‑study enrollments to 20% of a campus; the proposed non‑classroom school would allow a much larger share of students served in a non‑classroom model. Board members asked technical questions about staffing, shared governance and how the new school would coordinate with Health Sciences’ existing programs.
The hearing closed after about 10 minutes of public comment. No action was taken; the charter petition will return to the board with district staff’s recommendation.
What’s next: District staff will finish its review and present a recommendation to the board at a future meeting.
