San Francisco Proposition G (March 2024)

On November 20th, 2023 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a motion ordering the inclusion of Proposition G: Offering Algebra 1 to Eighth Graders on the March 2024 Local Ballot. Written by Supervisor Joel Engardio, the measure acts as a non-binding policy statement urging the San Francisco Unified School District to reverse their decision on delaying enrollment in Algebra I until ninth grade. If the ballot were to be passed, the decision to modify course offerings for students would not necessarily be changed. The San Francisco Unified School District is a public agency that is separate from the City and retains jurisdiction in regards to when Algebra I is able to be offered to students. Passage of the proposal would inform the San Francisco Unified School District on the stance of the constituents in regards to their preferred math offerings for students. Additionally, the proposal would: support the School District's development of its math curriculum for students at all grade levels, explore differentiation options for students both below and above grade-level in math across all grades, and promote pathways for students interested in studying STEM at the university level.

Support

According to the Ballot Simplification Committee's digest for voters, written by members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, voting "YES" would make it City policy to encourage the School District to offer Algebra 1 to students by their eighth-grade year and to support the School District's development of its math curriculum.

Joel Engardio, the author of the proposal, argues that delaying algebra until 9th grade penalizes math-loving students, limiting their ability to take advanced math coursework by high school graduation and hindering college options. He believes that offering algebra in 8th grade will enhance public education, address declining district enrollment, and make San Francisco's public schools more competitive with private schools, ultimately benefiting the city's future by retaining families. Engardio also highlights the unintended consequences of the current policy, such as its impact on college applications, and emphasizes the need for better teacher and staff pay to support successful algebra education.

Additional support has been voiced by those that supported the 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall.

Opposition

According to the Ballot Simplification Committee's digest for voters, a vote "NO" means that "you do not want to adopt this as City policy."

The lone supervisor voting against the measure, Shamann Walton, argues that the passage of the proposition does not address the challenges faced by students and teachers within the district. He states, "I don't like misleading the voters in making them think that we're putting something on the ballot that has any teeth or that actually does anything, because this measure does not do anything."

Proposal cost

On December 11th, 2023, the San Francisco Office of the Controller wrote: "Should the proposed declaration of policy be approved by the voters, in my opinion, it would have no cost to government." In effect, Proposition G is envisioned as a cost-neutral initiative, leaving the decision and implementation process of reintroducing 8th-grade algebra to the discretion of individual schools, offering flexibility to adapt the policy based on their unique circumstances and resources.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors vote

District	Map	Supervisor	Neighborhoods and areas represented	Party (officially nonpartisan)	Stance on Proposition G
District 1		Connie Chan	Inner Richmond, Central Richmond, Outer Richmond, Vista del Mar, Seacliff, Lake District, Presidio Terrace, Lone Mountain, Golden Gate Park, Lincoln Park, and the University of San Francisco	Democratic	Support
District 2		Catherine Stefani	Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Jordan Park, Laurel Heights, Presidio, Lower Pacific Heights, Cathedral Hill, and part of Russian Hill	Democratic	Support
District 3		Aaron Peskin	North Beach, Chinatown, Telegraph Hill, North Waterfront, Financial District, Nob Hill, Union Square, Maiden Lane, and part of Russian Hill	Democratic	Support
District 4		Joel Engardio	Central Sunset, Outer Sunset, Parkside, Outer Parkside, Pine Lake Park, Lakeshore, Merced Manor, and the Farallon Islands	Democratic	Support
District 5		Dean Preston	Haight Ashbury, Lower Haight, Fillmore, Western Addition, North Panhandle, Japantown, Hayes Valley, Tenderloin, and Civic Center	Democratic	Support
District 6		Matt Dorsey	Mid-Market, Rincon Hill/East Cut, South of Market, South Beach, Mission Bay, Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island, and Alcatraz	Democratic	Support
District 7		Myrna Melgar	Inner Parkside, Golden Gate Heights, Inner Sunset, Parnassus Heights, Clarendon Heights, part of Twin Peaks, West Portal, Forest Knolls, Midtown Terrace, Forest Hill, Miraloma Park, Sunnyside, Sherwood Forest, Westwood Highlands, Westwood Park, St. Francis Wood, Monterey Heights, Mt. Davidson, Balboa Terrace, Ingleside Terraces, Stonestown, Lakeside, Parkmerced, Lake Merced, City College, San Francisco State, part of Ashbury Heights, and part of UCSF Parnassus Heights	Democratic	Support
District 8		Rafael Mandelman	The Castro, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, Glen Park, Corona Heights, Eureka Valley, Dolores Heights, Mission Dolores, Duboce Triangle, Buena Vista Park, Cole Valley, Ashbury Heights, and part of Twin Peaks	Democratic	Support
District 9		Hillary Ronen	Mission District, Bernal Heights, and the Portola	Democratic	Support
District 10		Shamann Walton	Potrero Hill, Central Waterfront, Dogpatch, Bayview-Hunters Point, Bayview Heights, India Basin, Silver Terrace, Candlestick Point, Visitacion Valley, Little Hollywood, Sunnydale, and McLaren Park	Democratic	Oppose
District 11		Ahsha Safaí	Excelsior, Ingleside, Oceanview, Merced Heights, Ingleside Heights, Mission Terrace, Outer Mission, Cayuga, and Crocker Amazon	Democratic	Support