The city of San Francisco sued its school district on Wednesday in a drastic attempt to get students back into the classroom. The city argued it's safe enough and the district has dragged its feet on preparing for the students' return.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera cited a "woefully inadequate" reopening plan by the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Trustees. He is supported by Mayor London Breed, who said, "This is not the path we would have chosen, but nothing matters more right now than getting our kids back in school."

The city attorney said he will file a motion on Feb. 11, requesting that the court issue an emergency order. If the order is granted it would force the district to take action and prepare for students to return to campus, Herrera said.
 

He alleged the school board failed to deliver a comprehensive plan to get students back on campus, while neighboring counties and private schools have had students on campus for months. SFUSD Superintendent Vincent Matthews rebutted Herrera's claims in a press conference Wednesday.

It appears that the city attorney has not read through our plans or joined the hours of open meetings we have had on the topic of safely returning to in-person learning," he said. "It is simply untrue that the board and district have no plan to reopen schools. 

It's widely understood that students in many places have suffered from being out of the classroom. The achievement gap, an imbalance in academic performance between students, continues to grow. Children with more educational resources continue to advance, while others fall further behind their peers.