SF schools boss dodges questions from Congress on pronouns, parental rights

San Francisco’s public schools chief repeatedly refused to condemn an alleged ethnic studies comparison Wednesday when pressed by Republican lawmakers during a tense congressional hearing.

Superintendent Maria Su was asked whether she agreed with curriculum that allegedly compared parents who opposed COVID-19 school policies to white families in the 1960s who avoided desegregation by moving their children into private schools.

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), who is black, asked Su whether she believed opposition to public schools was “a problem only with white parents.”

Rather than answer, Su repeatedly said she would need to review the material first.

“I would need to see the document,” Su said. “I would need to understand the context.”

Owens then pressed her on whether black parents who choose to remove their children from public schools should also be viewed as racist.

Su again declined to answer directly, saying instead that San Francisco was developing a new ethnic studies curriculum.

“Just know that in terms of parents leaving public school systems, it’s all colors,” Owens replied before ending his questioning.

The exchange came during a more than three-hour hearing before a House committee examining education policies across several school districts, including curriculum, parental rights and transgender student policies.

While fellow superintendents from Virginia and Illinois faced the most aggressive questioning, Su was repeatedly accused of sidestepping direct answers when questioned about controversial issues.

In another exchange, Rep. Rick Allen (R-Georgia) asked Su about alleged district guidance that equated refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns with physical assault.

Allen asked whether she agreed with that position.

Su declined to give a yes-or-no answer.

“In San Francisco, we welcome all of our students as they are,” she said.

“We believe firmly that when we allow students to come in and truly be themselves, we are able to teach our students and support our students to be thriving adults.”

Su also refused to directly answer Rep. Robert Onder (R-Missouri) when he asked whether biological males should be permitted in girls’ locker rooms.

“To the best of my knowledge, we follow state and federal law,” Su said.

After Onder pressed her again, she repeated the same answer.

The superintendent defended some of the district’s recent policies, saying parents may opt children out of LGBTQ-related instruction for religious reasons and that the district has adjusted policies following court rulings involving parental notification and gender identity issues.

Su told lawmakers she was unaware of teachers lying to parents about students’ preferred pronouns.

San Francisco schools have faced years of criticism from conservatives and parent groups, culminating in the 2022 recall of three school board members amid backlash over prolonged COVID-19 closures and efforts to rename schools.

The district has also faced scrutiny over allegations it concealed students’ gender identities from parents and promoted controversial ethnic studies coursework.

Still, not all lawmakers were critical.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) praised the district for reversing several education policies that had drawn criticism in recent years.

Kiley noted the reinstatement of middle-school algebra, the removal of a controversial ethnic studies requirement and a renewed emphasis on phonics instruction.

Su confirmed all three changes.

“I love San Francisco. I think the city’s had a lot of problems, the district had a lot of problems, but I think on both counts we’ve seen big improvements in recent years,” Kiley said.

“And so I think that’s something to celebrate. There’s still probably plenty that I disagree with, but I think these are really good, important steps.”

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