The board voted 5-2 to direct district staff to develop the neighborhood-school plan, known as Option C, for the 2028-29 school year. The change would replace the current system in which families rank schools and placements are determined through a lottery.

Under the proposal, students would be assigned to a school based on their home address, including those who apply after the regular deadline. Some schools would remain available to students from across San Francisco because they offer programs such as language immersion, K-8 instruction or special education.

Superintendent Maria Su recommended Option C and called the shift “a very historic moment.” She said families should be able to count on a nearby school rather than “roll the dice and try their luck in our system.”

Board President Phil Kim said the board was moving toward a neighborhood model. The district’s assignment system has been debated for years, with commissioners arguing that its unpredictability discourages families and that it has not effectively reduced racial disparities.

The vote sets the direction for district staff to develop the plan; the available details do not specify how neighborhood boundaries or school capacity will be handled. Those decisions will be important to whether students can reliably attend nearby schools as the district moves away from citywide school rankings.