Elite San Francisco high school that ditched merit admissions violated open meetings law, judge rules

Opponents of San Francisco Board of Education's decision to change Lowell High School's admissions policy from merit-based to lottery in February scored a victory on Thursday.

Superior Court Judge Ethan P. Schulman ruled the board violated the Brown Act when it failed to post an agenda that adequately described the resolution before implementing it.

At a hearing, James R. Sutton, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, tried to get the judge to go farther than a tentative decision he wrote.

"If you could insert into the first sentence of your order...the phrase 'and reinstate merit-based admissions at Lowell High School'," Sutton said.

Schulman told Sutton he specifically declined to do this and had included his reasoning in a section of the ruling. Schulman said he did not want to take over the decision making process for the admissions policy at Lowell.

"What I've said, in essence, is I'm setting aside this resolution, I'm finding it to be null and void. What the board does as a result is up to the board," he stated. "It's not impossible for them to notice this matter and have a properly noticed, properly agendized public meeting that might end up having them take the very same action again. But it's not up to me to tell them what they should and shouldn't do as a result of the court's order."

Sutton in an interview after the hearing said he was happy with the judge's decision. He liked that Schulman's ruling was strong and clear and during the hearing the judge decided to say from the bench that his decision effectively reinstates merit-based admissions.

Sutton said his intent was to have a clear establishment after the court order's implementation that the status quo would be Lowell returning to its admissions policy prior to the February resolution.

Lowell High School has been regarded as one of the most prestigious high schools in San Francisco, and alumni objected to the school board's decision to drop merit-based admissions in favor of a lottery system.

This marks the third time this year the San Francisco Board of Education has had a decision overruled by the courts for not following the proper procedures. Previously, the board was ordered to rescind its decision to rename 44 schools as well as a decision to cover up murals at George Washington High School.

"They know these decisions are unpopular...So they sneak these in at the last minute. They call a special meeting and then most notably they name the item gibberish so no one knows what it really is," Sutton said.

The resolution to change Lowell's admission process was under an agenda item named "In response to ongoing racism at Lowell," he said.

Sutton also voiced concern about the board dragging its feet after Thursday's ruling. The deadline for families to join the wait pool for schools has already passed and open enrollment is coming up in a month. This would lead to more arbitration and delays, which, in Sutton's opinion, would only confuse and harm kids and families.

"The court ruling makes certain the school board complies with all laws and policies in its actions. This is a victory for San Francisco students and parents and the city as a whole."