SFUSD superintendent defends policies, transgender student issues during Congressional hearing

[0:00] Today, San Francisco Unified is in the line of fire in the ongoing national culture war. [0:05] Superintendent Dr. Maria Su was grilled by the House Education Committee over the district's [0:10] policies relating to transgender students, religious rights, parental rights, ethnic [0:15] studies, and achievement gaps. Joining us live now is longtime San Francisco educator and lawyer [0:20] John Trusvenia, a graduate of Lowell High School, former dean of the University of San Francisco [0:25] Law School and member of the American Bar Association's Committee on Public Education. [0:30] John, thanks for joining us. [0:32] Always good to see you, Kristen. [0:33] You watched closely today as members of the committee, especially Republicans, tried to [0:38] take Dr. Su and the superintendents and two other, three other democratic-leaning counties [0:42] to task over policies in their schools that broadly fall under the culture wars category. [0:48] Here's one of the exchanges. [0:51] And parents overwhelmingly wanted to have algebra come back, wanted to make sure that our school [0:56] district was delivering academically rigorous classes and programs for our students to [1:02] set them up for success. [1:04] And that is what we did. [1:05] So last year, we went through a multi-year evaluation process to identify the best way for us to bring [1:12] algebra back. [1:13] And this is what we did with our board. [1:16] And you listened to the parents. [1:17] I listened to the parents. [1:20] All right. [1:20] That was actually one of the friendlier exchanges and was very interesting to me because that [1:24] was former Republican, well, Congressman Kevin Kiley. [1:28] He's now running as a Democrat in a newly created district after the redistricting here in California. [1:34] He took an approach that on an issue that I think is less culture war and more on where [1:39] the district's focus is now. [1:42] Talk about that because I know that was an issue that you cared about and also a lot of parents [1:46] in San Francisco cared about. [1:48] Well, you're absolutely right, Kristen. [1:51] The Kiley-Sue exchange was, I think, a direct result of voters voting for Proposition 50. [1:59] Kevin Kiley has been an antagonist of the school district for quite some time, and he's paid [2:04] more attention to San Francisco than other members of the committee. [2:08] But as a result of that exchange and other exchanges, Maria Sue can return to San Francisco [2:14] as a war hero, having survived a congressional hearing and done a good job. [2:19] The way she did it was sort of in the strategy that Muhammad Ali used so well, Ruppidop. [2:25] You respond to the question a little bit, but not so much to get you into trouble, not to have [2:31] follow-ups, and she was able to get her way with the committee. [2:35] It was a tough committee. [2:36] One of the Congress members, one of the Democrats, Rehalva of Arizona, apologized to Dr. Sue [2:42] and to the other witnesses for the harassment that they felt was coming their way unnecessarily. [2:50] And so overall, this was a very successful day for the San Francisco schools and Dr. [2:56] Sue. [2:57] We've seen these hearings before, of course. [2:59] A lot of college presidents actually lost their jobs as a result of things they said. [3:04] So it didn't seem like there were traps that she fell into. [3:07] Of course, there were friendlier exchanges from Democrats, such as Congressman Mark Desaunye, [3:12] the East Bay, who gave her the chance to talk about, instead of wasting money on this, you [3:16] know, what would you like to see the federal government spend money on, which gave her a [3:19] chance to talk about the programs. [3:21] But I also want to point to the culture war topic. [3:24] So here's another exchange. [3:25] Let's listen. [3:25] First of all, I'm not a lawyer, but what we are doing, to the best of my knowledge, at [3:32] San Francisco Unified School District is adjust our practices and ensure that our teachers [3:40] and educators understand the change in the law and to make sure that we adjust our practices [3:46] to be in compliance. [3:48] So it is your policy now that parents should be notified? [3:50] We believe that parents are our students' first teachers. [3:56] We strive to create really strong lines of communication with families. [4:01] Thank you. [4:03] Explain that one. [4:04] We didn't have the question set up, but being notified of what for parents? [4:09] And what was the law that changed? [4:10] And how did that affect San Francisco? [4:13] Well, the Supreme Court ruled last year that parents have a right to opt out on what's called [4:20] Drag Queen Story Hour. [4:23] And the question that was posed to Superintendent Sue was, at what age is it appropriate to have [4:27] Drag Queen Story Hour? [4:29] She didn't answer the question, but she went back to the sort of the safe harbor of saying, [4:35] we follow the law. [4:36] And in the exchange you saw, while the other superintendent said, we follow the law and then got [4:41] questioned about, well, what is the law and what are you doing? [4:43] She said, to the best of my knowledge, we're following the law. [4:46] So she was able to create some Teflon for herself and not have any of the answers or tough questions [4:55] follow up and stick. [4:56] I've been involved in congressional hearings for years. [4:59] And oftentimes the staff generates all these questions and they're all enthusiastic. [5:03] And then when they get to the hearing, their boss, their member doesn't ask the toughest questions. [5:08] In this case, I think getting back to where we started with Congressman Kylie of the Sacramento area, [5:13] because he is in a new district, he is less of an antagonist than he would be otherwise. [5:20] And at the end, he said, I see the changes in San Francisco. [5:24] I see the changes in the school district. [5:26] He was pleased with bringing back algebra. [5:29] He was pleased that instead of changing the name of Abraham Lincoln High School, [5:33] the superintendent went to Lincoln High's graduation this week. [5:37] So there was a lot of positive, a lot of positive diplomacy that has been done by the school district [5:44] and by Superintendent Sue to make this a successful hearing. [5:47] Yeah, it does seem like also that it worked in her favor that Kylie is running in the general election [5:53] and needing to go a little more moderate in the way he approached this hearing. [5:57] But I want to pull back the lens a little bit in just the time that we have left, which is not much, [6:01] which is what is this whole thing about, right? [6:04] Because keep in mind that a DOJ review was also launched. [6:08] Exactly what is at stake? [6:11] Right. [6:11] So the school district isn't out of the woods yet. [6:13] They have until July 20th to produce a ton of materials to the Justice Department [6:19] on parental issues and other issues. [6:22] It's a voluminous document request, and that'll be the next step. [6:27] But there's clearly an effort between now and the November election to use education [6:32] and use public schools as a weapon against Democratic constituencies, against Democratic cities, [6:39] and to drive up the enthusiasm of those who are on the other side. [6:43] So it remains to be seen. [6:45] But I would say for Dr. Sue, she did a very good job of representing San Francisco. [6:52] All politics is local, so she had to deal with the politics here, [6:55] representing and standing up for San Francisco values without offending members of Congress. [6:59] And she was able to do that successfully. [7:02] And with laryngitis, no less. [7:05] John Trusvina, San Francisco educator and lawyer, thank you so much for your analysis. [7:09] Really appreciate it.