Reportedly the first of its kind, the City of San Francisco is suing its school district and board of education in an effort to compel them to reopen schools.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera has filed a preliminary injunction against the San Francisco Unified School District and the Board of Education alleging the current plan to reopen schools and resume in-person instruction is inadequate and doesn’t meet California guidelines. The lawsuit goes on to accuse the district of violating students’ rights to attend public school, discriminating against students due to wealth and violating state law by not offering in-person learning “to the greatest extent.”

According to news reports, the city’s public schools have been closed since March 2020 but most of the city’s private and parochial schools have resumed in-person learning. Efforts to reopen the public schools in January failed after the district and the labor unions couldn’t agree on safety measures for staff. Allegedly, a tentative agreement was recently reached and now the district is working with the Department of Public Health to complete site inspections in anticipation of reopening.

“Distance learning is not the same thing as school, not even close,” Herrera said in a statement. “We know that teachers are doing heroic work every day trying to keep kids engaged and learning. So are overburdened parents. Even with all those tremendous efforts, almost a year of being isolated from classmates, friends and teachers is taking a terrifying toll on these kids. It must stop. It’s time to get back in class.”

—Source: ktvu.com