SAN FRANCISCO—A new lawsuit has been filed against the San Francisco School Board on Friday, April 23 in regards to an equity audit that was voted on February 10. The audit changed Lowell’s admissions policy from a merit-based admissions to a random lottery system like many public schools in the Bay Area, after a 5-2 vote.
The lawsuit was filed with the San Francisco Superior Court with attorney Christine Linnenbach representing the Friends of Lowell Foundation, the Lowell Alumni Association, the San Francisco Taxpayers Association, and the Asian American Legal Foundation against the school district. Their argument is that the board failed to properly list the resolution in the meeting agenda or provide equal time for both sides during public comment and give the public adequate time to review the proposal before the vote. “We want to be included, not excluded from the process,” said Linnenbach to the SF Chronicle.
The lawsuit also states that the school board was too cryptic in the naming of Resolution No. 212-2A1 as “In Response to Ongoing, Systemic Racism at Lowell High School” without any additional context as to what that meant. In the press release from that meeting, the school board decided that Lowell will “use the regular admissions process” as any SFUSD beginning in 2022. The President of the Alumni Association, Kate Lazarus stated, “It’s about a process that is fair and compliant with the law. No court date has been announced as of yet.
