A civil grand jury report released June 15 reveals that nearly a quarter of teachers in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) do not have full teaching credentials.
According to the report, “SFUSD does not employ an adequate number of credentialed teachers to afford a quality education to all San Francisco students.” The report added the district has had trouble recruiting and retaining teachers, perhaps because of low starting salaries and the payroll error last year that left some teachers unpaid for months. The COVID-19 pandemic also exacerbated the statewide teacher shortage.
But this issue predates the pandemic — according to the grand jury, the district has been losing nine-to-10 percent of teachers each year for more than ten years. The state allows uncredentialed people to teach only when no credentialed teachers are available — and even then, only temporarily.
The grand jury found that during the 2021-2022 school year, 23 percent of teachers lacked full credentials, and 10 percent were deemed “ineffective” by the state. The local teachers union — United Educators of San Francisco — issued a statement affirming the report’s findings and calling on officials to help them address the teacher shortage.
The grand jury recommended that the district and Board of Education prepare reports on teacher salaries and recruitment efforts. SFUSD and Mayor London Breed must respond to the report’s findings and recommendations by Aug. 14.
