Marina Middle School

Summary:

On January 23, 2023, Public Advocates filed a Williams complaint with the San Francisco Unified School District to address Marina Middle School’s failure to provide students with the qualified teachers they are entitled to under the law.

Attorneys at Public Advocates have uncovered numerous teacher vacancies, teacher misassignments and a pattern of inaction by school administrators. Since 2005, as a result of Williams v. California, a landmark lawsuit brought by Public Advocates and other organizations in 2000, school districts are required to correct teacher vacancies and unlawful assignments within 30 days.

Public Advocates is calling on SFUSD to take immediate action to remedy these violations and those occurring elsewhere in the district as anecdotal reports to the organization have been identified. The district must begin to develop long term solutions—more transparency through a proper district and school plan, communication with families, placement of qualified teachers and personnel, and centering the well-being and needs of all students, particularly multilingual learners and students with disabilities—to address these systemic issues that have led to a disruptive, unsafe, and unhealthy school culture, declines in enrollment, and staffing instabilities.

Resources:

Read our press release (Mandarin version)
Read our complaint against Marina Middle School
Read press coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, EdSource, and Sing Tao Daily