SFUSD to revamp school lottery by 2028, consider closures in 2030

San Francisco families could see a new map for elementary school placement by fall 2028, followed by possible school mergers or closures by fall 2030, a shift that could redraw daily commutes, reshape neighborhood identity and determine which campuses stay anchors in their communities.

The San Francisco Unified School District said the new assignment system would replace the long-running districtwide lottery for elementary students with a zone-based policy approved by the Board of Education in December 2020. That change was previously slated for 2026-27, but the district said district circumstances pushed it back. SFUSD has argued the current system has contributed to segregation by income, race and academic performance, along with under-enrollment and community disconnection.

Enrollment pressure is driving the overhaul. The district said enrollment has fallen steadily since 1999, dropped by more than 4,000 students since the 2017-18 school year and could lose another 4,600 students by 2032. In February 2026, SFUSD said it had 48,600 students, down from 52,000 in 2020-21. District leaders say staffing must match both student counts and available funding.

Closures are not part of this first phase. SFUSD said any school closures or mergers would be completed by fall 2030, after a separate community engagement process that would not begin until the 2028-29 school year at the earliest. The district also said it may expand some programs as early as 2027-28 to better meet family demand, signaling that some campuses could grow even as others face consolidation.

The move comes after a bruising 2024 closure process, when SFUSD prepared mergers, co-locations and closures for the 2025-26 school year, held town halls and surveys, and briefly pursued a plan to close 11 schools before pausing the effort amid leadership turmoil and budget pressure. That fight drew out deep concerns from parents and educators, including the future of Cantonese language programs and the risk of neighborhood disruption. Parents, teachers and students have repeatedly described the lottery as confusing and stressful, while some families have defended it as a path to stronger schools.

Superintendent Maria Su has tried to frame the changes as overdue. “We are ready for this,” Su said, adding that it is “about time.” For San Francisco’s public schools, the next two years now look less like routine planning than a reset that could decide which children stay close to home, which cross town, and which campuses remain part of the city’s civic fabric.