San Francisco Unified School District board members are scheduled to vote Tuesday, Oct. 13, on a new approach to student assignments that would replace the district’s 15-year-old school-choice lottery with neighborhood-focused enrollment. Both options under consideration would give students access to a school in their neighborhood. One would also let families apply to schools in other neighborhoods when space is available. The other would permit applications outside a student’s neighborhood only for schools with specialized programs. The lottery has required families to rank their preferred campuses, a process parents have criticized when nearby schools were unavailable or siblings were assigned to different campuses. Rebecca Kee, executive director of the San Francisco Parents Coalition, said the current system creates stress for families. Her organization surveyed parents about the two proposals and found greater support for the option allowing applications to other neighborhoods when seats are open. The district had considered three approaches. Superintendent Maria Su said at a Sept. 1 working session that district leaders would present the tradeoffs to the school board and community. Even after the board selects an option, the district will need to determine what counts as a neighborhood and how its boundaries will work. Those decisions could have significant consequences for where children can enroll and how access to schools is distributed across San Francisco. Coleman Advocates for Children, which works with Latine, Pacific Islander and Indigenous families, warned that neighborhood-based assignments could return some communities to under-resourced schools. The organization said past assignment policies—including desegregation efforts, busing and school choice—have not shared benefits and burdens equally. The new system is expected to take effect in 2028. The board’s vote will determine which framework district staff use as they develop the details.