SF parents want a Mandarin charter school. They have to get past the unions first

When it came time for Brian Hollinger to send his kids to school, he knew exactly where they’d go.



Hollinger and his wife, Yunita Tjhai, who is of Indonesian and Chinese descent, wanted their three sons to grow up fluent in Mandarin. They enrolled the eldest two in a Mandarin-immersion program at Starr King Elementary School in Potrero Hill, available to only a handful of students in the San Francisco Unified School District.&nbsp;



The immersion program has paid off.&nbsp;



“My boys are off the charts,” Hollinger said. “People think Chinese is their mother tongue. It’s my proudest accomplishment as a parent.”



Hollinger knows his kids are lucky. Starr King is one of only two elementary schools and one middle school in the San Francisco Unified School District that provide Mandarin-immersion courses.&nbsp;



Hollinger sees an opportunity to change that. In recent months, he and a group of parents and educators organized a petition to open a K-8 public Mandarin-immersion school in a city where more than 180,000 residents identify as Chinese and private Mandarin schools have grown in popularity. More than 200 parents and 10 teachers signed the petition, according to the coalition.&nbsp;



But Hollinger chose a politically challenging path.&nbsp;



The coalition wants to open <a href="https://www.dragongateacademy.org/">Dragon Gate Academy</a> as a charter school —&nbsp;a controversial idea in union-friendly San Francisco.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1668" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195008193_chineseschool_041.jpg?w=2500" alt="A person in a light blue shirt and jeans stands with hands in pockets on a street with cars lined up, near a traditional green-roofed archway." class="wp-image-406055" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195008193_chineseschool_041.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195008193_chineseschool_041.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195008193_chineseschool_041.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195008193_chineseschool_041.jpg?resize=2500,1668 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195008193_chineseschool_041.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195008193_chineseschool_041.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Hollinger, who has three sons, is leading the effort to launch Dragon Gate Academy.</figcaption></figure>



SFUSD oversees 13 charter schools, few compared with public school districts in other major California cities. The Board of Education hasn’t approved a new charter school in more than a decade, while the state Legislature has in recent years passed laws that make it increasingly difficult <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2019/12/18/charter-school-war-to-resume-as-lawmakers-plan-new-round-of-restrictions-1233464">for charters to open and operate in California</a>.&nbsp;



Dragon Gate Academy would receive both state and local funding as a public charter school, though it’s unclear how much it would cost to open. Hollinger said it’s likely the new academy would pay rent to the district by using an existing school site with available space. The coalition leading the campaign has a website that identifies at least four possible sites across the city.&nbsp;



SFUSD officials have hinted at their opposition to Dragon Gate Academy amid concerns from labor groups representing educators.&nbsp;



But Hollinger is undeterred. The coalition on Monday filed a formal proposal with the district to open Dragon Gate Academy, kicking off a 60-day review period. The board will hold public hearings on the proposal before voting on it.&nbsp;



The group behind Dragon Gate Academy wants to open the school by August 2026, according to their website. If the application is denied, the coalition said, it would appeal the decision to the state Board of Education.&nbsp;



&#8220;To the doubters, we say, ‘Yes we can,’” Hollinger said during a press conference Tuesday at the district’s downtown headquarters. &#8220;We’re moving forward with unstoppable urgency.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-demand-for-mandarin-instruction">High demand for Mandarin instruction</h2>



San Francisco has several private schools that provide full <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/09/private-chinese-mandarin-schools-san-francisco/">Mandarin-immersion instruction</a>. Those schools are popular among affluent families that see Mandarin instruction as a valuable opportunity in an increasingly globalized world.



In contrast, thousands of SFUSD students have to compete for only dozens of slots in Mandarin programs.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231223-chinatownhistorydigitize-01.jpg?w=2500" alt="A hand rests on an open book with handwritten Chinese characters. The page margins are red, and the hand wears a ring and bracelet." class="wp-image-235055" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231223-chinatownhistorydigitize-01.jpg 3456w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231223-chinatownhistorydigitize-01.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231223-chinatownhistorydigitize-01.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231223-chinatownhistorydigitize-01.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231223-chinatownhistorydigitize-01.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231223-chinatownhistorydigitize-01.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A volunteer scans a document, dated 1941, from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association.</figcaption></figure>



Starr King Elementary offers a Mandarin-immersion program to 26 native speakers in each grade. Another 18 seats are reserved in each grade for non-native speakers, according to district data.



Jose Ortega Elementary School in Ingleside provides a similar immersion program to 13 native speakers and nine non-native speakers in every grade, with dozens more on waiting lists.&nbsp;



Aptos Middle School, also in the Ingleside area, offers a combined 66 seats for programs at each grade level that serve both native and non-native speakers.&nbsp;



Jose Ortega’s Mandarin programs <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/26/sf-public-schools-ranking-admissions/">rank among the top five</a> most competitive of SFUSD’s 108 kindergarten programs, according to an analysis by The Standard.



The district also runs one Cantonese immersion school, which teaches the Chinese language that is preferred by <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2022/01/06/sfs-chinese-community-struggles-to-save-cantonese-as-mandarin-takes-over/">many immigrants in San Francisco</a> but not spoken as widely as Mandarin.



Those who support Dragon Gate Academy see it as a way to fill the gaps and ensure more kids have access to Mandarin education.



“Too many students have been denied access to Mandarin immersion education because SFUSD has not prioritized its expansion,” Susan Fong Wong, a member of the Dragon Gate coalition, said in a statement. “This new school will offer that exceptional education many seek.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-political-minefield">A political minefield</h2>



The debate around charter schools in California revolves largely around funding and employment. Charter schools receive public money but generally operate independently from the district. They typically employ nonunion teachers, a major issue in San Francisco, with its powerful teachers union. 



Board President Phil Kim, a former charter school educator, and Superintendent Maria Su are working on a separate plan to open a district-run Mandarin immersion school by 2027 — what many see as a thinly veiled attempt to persuade Hollinger to abandon his plans for Dragon Gate Academy.



“SFUSD has an opportunity to expand its offerings for language immersion programs to attract and retain students and families, but also to provide robust instructional offerings that support our student outcome goals,” Kim said in a statement. “Our focus is on SFUSD. And we welcome anyone who wants to partner with us in service of kids and student outcomes.&#8221;



But with SFUSD facing a dire financial crisis that could force layoffs and school closures, it’s unclear when any new district-run immersion school would open.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1668" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8558191580_sfusdpresser_001.jpg?w=2500" alt="A person with short hair and glasses stands behind a podium with microphones, wearing a suit and a pink shirt, looking serious. An American flag is blurred in the background." class="wp-image-371817" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8558191580_sfusdpresser_001.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8558191580_sfusdpresser_001.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8558191580_sfusdpresser_001.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8558191580_sfusdpresser_001.jpg?resize=2500,1668 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8558191580_sfusdpresser_001.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8558191580_sfusdpresser_001.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">School board president Phil Kim is working on a competing plan to open a district-run Mandarin immersion school by 2027.</figcaption></figure>



Josh Davidson, a representative of Service Employees International Union 1021 and a chef for SFUSD Student Nutrition Services, said his union is firmly against the expansion of charter schools.



“At a time when leaders at the SFUSD are starting again to raise the possibility of <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/08/school-closure-list-sfusd/">public school closures</a>, we are deeply concerned that these closures may pave the way for the privatization of public spaces through charter conversions,” Davidson said in a statement.



The United Educators of San Francisco has similarly come out against the new charter.&nbsp;



“It is understandable that families are demanding quality language programs from SFUSD,” the union said in a statement. “UESF is happy to work with families to expand the services our public schools offer. This also means the union will advocate to keep all the resources for our public schools.”



Margaret Lee, a retired educator and a member of UESF who supports the Dragon Gate proposal, disputes the idea that the charter school’s proponents are anti-union. She said she and others in the Dragon Gate coalition are committed to providing union-level protections for teachers at their school.



“For the employees who work for our Dragon Gate Academy, they will have the same rights and benefits,” Lee said.&nbsp;



Hollinger is resolute, despite the mounting opposition to his proposed school.&nbsp;



“We’re undaunted,” he said. “Parents and children in the district are saying this is something that we want.&#8221;

Ideology or education? New ethnic studies class has parents mad

‘Pain in the neck’: SF parents share summer camp survival tips

For Sevda Gundogan, planning summer activities for her two children is an endurance test. With more than 100 programs and activities offered across San Francisco, the breadth of summer camps is overwhelming.



“My kids are out of school for 14 weeks a year,” said Gundogan, who lives in the Sunset neighborhood. “It’s always very difficult to plan for school breaks.”



Even with dozens of options, it was a headache to find camps that fit her family’s specific needs: the right age ranges and extended hours, staying open as late as 5 p.m. to accommodate her full-time job. When she did find options, they were often already full. Even when she managed to enroll her children, they sometimes came home after the first day not wanting to return because they didn’t have friends there.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1668" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/9070742868_summercampmadness_478.jpg?w=2500" alt="A woman and a child stand against a building with large windows, surrounded by bushes. The child leans playfully on the woman, both smiling outdoors." class="wp-image-396737" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/9070742868_summercampmadness_478.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/9070742868_summercampmadness_478.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/9070742868_summercampmadness_478.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/9070742868_summercampmadness_478.jpg?resize=2500,1668 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/9070742868_summercampmadness_478.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/9070742868_summercampmadness_478.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gundogan and her 5-year-old son, Atlas Prowse, at West Sunset Park Playground.</figcaption></figure>



As the school year winds down, parents are racing to map out their kids’ summer schedules, week by week, in an annual ritual that can be nerve-racking, disruptive, and expensive. There’s a sprawling mix of camps — offered by the city, nonprofits, and private organizations — offering activities related to art, nature, sports, and academics. But camp providers have little coordination on the signup process and opening times, leaving families scrambling to patch together schedules that accommodate caregivers’ jobs.



Some parents have stepped up to help others navigate the chaos. They share tips, coordinate carpools, juggle their children’s interests, and try to stay on budget, turning the competitive sport of summer-camp planning into a cooperative one.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pain-in-the-neck">‘Pain in the neck’</h2>



Emily Moriarty de Ayora describes the camp registration process as “a pain in the neck.” She has to consider the needs of her three children, each with different interests and age requirements, and, of course, the cost: Some camps cost as much as $1,000 per week, and options for young kids are limited.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="2500" width="1667" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/inlined03_20240705-parentschoolclosure.jpg?w=1667" alt="A woman sits at a table, engaging in a playdough activity with children. The table is covered with colorful playdough and various shaping tools." class="wp-image-290232" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/inlined03_20240705-parentschoolclosure.jpg 5152w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/inlined03_20240705-parentschoolclosure.jpg?resize=200,300 200w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/inlined03_20240705-parentschoolclosure.jpg?resize=768,1152 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/inlined03_20240705-parentschoolclosure.jpg?resize=1667,2500 1667w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/inlined03_20240705-parentschoolclosure.jpg?resize=1024,1536 1024w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/inlined03_20240705-parentschoolclosure.jpg?resize=1365,2048 1365w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1667px) 100vw, 1667px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Emily Moriarty de Ayora, who has three kids, considers herself an expert on camp planning.</figcaption></figure>



But after six years of managing camp logistics, she considers herself an expert.



“I have a spreadsheet with all of the summer weeks down one side, and then three kids across the top,” de Ayora said. “And then I just go week by week, filling it up.”



Some of the most sought-after camps are the relatively affordable options provided by the city.



The Recreation and Parks Department <a href="https://sfrecpark.org/DocumentCenter/View/25490/2025-Day-Camp-Catalog">offers nearly 9,500 camp slots</a> featuring activities such as swimming, biking, and science lessons, and 9,212 for this summer have been filled. The most popular camps tend to fill up within minutes after registration opens in March, though waitlists are available, and spots often open up before summer begins.&nbsp;



The cheapest camps start at $40 a week for swimming lessons; some of the most expensive — such as the Randall Museum’s art, science, and technology day camp, <a href="https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/sfrecpark/activity/search?onlineSiteId=0&amp;activity_select_param=2&amp;viewMode=list">which is fully booked for 2025</a> — cost $880 per week. Other popular options include the Silver Tree camp in Glen Canyon, which has a weekly cost of $300 for ages 6–11 and $400 for ages 12–14.&nbsp;



Several nonprofits <a href="https://www.sf.gov/summer-programs-for-children-and-youth">funded by the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families</a> — such as the YMCA, Community Youth Center, and Boys &amp; Girls Clubs of San Francisco — offer more budget-friendly options, with sliding-scale pricing based on family income.



The San Francisco Unified School District also offers a variety of summer programs designed to support students’ academic, social, and emotional development. The district is working to expand access to its popular summer geometry class for high school students.



Then there are the luxury camps. Some specialized dance and theater programs can cost up to $1,400 for 10 days.



“I let each kid pick a camp that&#8217;s maybe a little bit more expensive,” de Ayora said. “I try to mix the camp so that there are some inexpensive, low-key ones.”&nbsp;



De Ayora started the summer planning process late last year. But she said the Recreation and Parks Department camps didn&#8217;t open for registration until March, which adds to the uncertainty: Registration windows vary for the different camps, meaning the process of booking your kids’ summer can drag out for months.&nbsp;



Some parents have taken matters into their own hands, creating databases to organize the options and share information with other families.&nbsp;



De Ayora consults a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XhJnHqu3eXCw3E8vxdo-yitFulE-yh0vk6oIOwpa4RA/edit?gid=1602356659#gid=1602356659">database</a> curated by real estate agent Sherri Howe, which lists more than 100 local camps, such as the San Francisco Zoo’s <a href="https://www.sfzoo.org/conservation-camp/">Conservation Camp</a>, with a focus on wildlife and hands-on art and science. Other parents use the site <a href="https://www.activityhero.com/">ActivityHero to check program availability.</a>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0092.jpg?w=2500" alt="Three people stand silhouetted against a misty, tree-filled landscape, looking out over a grassy area framed by large trees and scattered rocks." class="wp-image-339237" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0092.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0092.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0092.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0092.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0092.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0092.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The San Francisco Zoo offers a summer program focused on wildlife.</figcaption></figure>



For Gundogan, a former tech worker, frustration motivated her to launch her own business. In March, she founded a startup called <a href="https://campscamp.com/camps">CampScamp</a>, which helps parents find and filter information through a centralized, searchable database.



She described herself — and many other parents — as experiencing “decision fatigue” due to the overwhelming number of options. Her goal is to help families narrow them down.



“I learned the hard way,” she said. “When a parent visits our platform, we ask a few questions so we can present the best choices available.”



This summer, Gundogan’s kids are attending <a href="https://www.littleforestexplorers.com/about">Little Forest Explorers</a> camp, where they’ll spend time in Golden Gate Park. The older child is also signed up for soccer, biking, and tennis camps.



De Ayora said her daughter will attend a <a href="https://sfshakes.org/education/camps/bay-area-shakespeare-camp/">Shakespeare-themed camp,</a> led by theater professionals, and will present a final performance for family and friends of an abridged play. The camp typically runs around $900, though there are discounts based on ZIP Code.



She hopes camp providers will create a more streamlined system.



“I wish somehow there was a coordinated week where all the summer camp signups happened at the same time,” she said. “And that definitely does not happen.”

Kamala Harris skewers Donald Trump in SF speech

Former vice president Kamala Harris took direct aim at Donald Trump during a speech in San Francisco Wednesday evening, calling his administration &#8220;reckless&#8221; and &#8220;self-serving&#8221; while casting the White House as authoritarian and corrupt.



&#8220;What we are, in fact, witnessing is a high-velocity event. Where a vessel is being used for the swift implementation of an agenda that has been decades in the making,&#8221; said Harris, a Bay Area native and former U.S senator. &#8220;An agenda to slash public education. An agenda to shrink government. And then privatize its services. All while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us.&#8221;



Harris, who is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/07/kamala-harris-california-governor-decision-deadline-00216737">mulling a run for California governor</a> in 2026, said the president&#8217;s actions have not led to lower costs or a more affordable lifestyle, a key promise Trump made while on the campaign trail in 2024. She also criticized his tariff policy, which has led to a slump in the stock market and worries about a recession, calling it &#8220;the greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history.&#8221;



Referring to comments made by Trump in the Oval Office this month, where he explored the idea of sending criminals to El Salvador, Harris said it is &#8220;not OK to detain and disappear American citizens or anyone without due process.&#8221;



Her comments came during a keynote speech at an event held at the luxury Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco and marked her first major address — and pointed criticism of Trump — since losing the November presidential election. 



The gathering commemorated the 20th anniversary of Emerge America, a group that tries to bring more Democratic women into elected office. Other speakers included former U.S. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, who is also running for a governor&#8217;s seat in Virginia, and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin.



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Harris is not the only Democratic official to take a swipe at the president in recent weeks. This month, former vice president Al Gore <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLGyUckZFr8">compared Trump&#8217;s political maneuvers to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler</a>. Former president Barack Obama has also spoken out about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J48l41l94HQ">themes of democracy, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary</a>.



&#8220;One of the things that has distinguished us in the past has been this basic idea that we are a rules-based society,&#8221; Obama said during an event at Hamilton College. &#8220;What that means is that I can support one candidate instead of another and I don&#8217;t have to worry that the police are going to come harass me. That&#8217;s what happens in other places. That&#8217;s what happens in Russia.&#8221;

Bay Area students sue U.S. government over terminated immigration records

Five international students at Bay Area universities on Friday <a href="https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/doc/158558.pdf">filed</a> a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging what they describe as unlawful terminations of their student immigration records.



According to the complaint, the Department of Homeland Security abruptly terminated the plaintiffs’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) between April 4 and April 8 — a move they say jeopardizes their legal status in the United States.



Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose division, the lawsuit names as defendants DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons, ICE San Francisco Field Office acting Director Moises Becerra, and President Donald Trump.



The plaintiffs — three international students, and two former international students “currently working pursuant to post-graduate employment authorization” — are represented by San Francisco attorney Zachary M. Nightingale of Van Der Hout Immigration &amp; Nationality Law. The students filed under pseudonyms “due to fear of retaliation … harassment or blacklisting by third parties,” according to the lawsuit.&nbsp;



“It&#8217;s unprecedented and, I believe, unlawful for the government to terminate SEVIS with no due process,” said Nightingale.



The lawsuit outlines that ICE uses SEVIS — the government database that collects information on international students — to track students’ status. The suit contests the termination of the SEVIS records, arguing that ICE’s reasoning to do so does not provide legal authority, nor should it amount to any violation of the plaintiffs’ lawful status. The lawsuit also says that just because a visa is revoked does not mean that ICE is authorized to terminate the student’s F-1 status.



Deleting the SEVIS records is not the same as terminating visas, although there is some overlap in the processes. Three of the plaintiffs received notifications from the State Department that their visas had been revoked, while the others have no way to verify if their visas have been affected without notification from the department.



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The students allege that their records were marked as &#8220;Otherwise Failing to Maintain Status,&#8221; with a notation about criminal record checks, despite their having only minor offenses or dismissed charges. Each of the five had some run-in with law enforcement authorities during their visa periods.



“The government was updating the database of the students to indicate that they are no longer in status, when, in fact they are in status, and nothing changed,” said Nightingale. “So our argument is, No. 1, they do not have the legal authority to do that, period. And No. 2, there was no actual violation of their status that would justify any mechanism by which they could terminate their status.”



S.Y., the main plaintiff, is a graduate student who first came to study in the United States on a student visa in 2013 and completed an undergraduate degree. In 2018, S.Y.&#8217;s F-1 visa was revoked due to a misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence, for which S.Y. paid a fine and completed classes. After applying for another F-1 visa abroad at a U.S. consulate, S.Y. was issued a new visa and reentered the United States to continue their studies. The plaintiff applied for and obtained another visa in 2024 to complete their graduate studies, but on April 8, they received notice from their university that their SEVIS status was terminated.



Another plaintiff, Z.D., first came to study in the United States on a student visa in 2021, receiving an undergraduate degree, then, in 2024, a graduate degree. Since then, Z.D. has worked lawfully in the U.S. with F-1 OPT status, which permits the right to work for a period of time after completing one’s studies. This plaintiff had a misdemeanor conviction for disturbing the peace in 2024, for which they paid a fine.&nbsp;



Plaintiff Y.W. is an undergraduate student who arrived in the U.S. on a student visa in 2021. In 2022, Y.W. attempted to reenter the U.S. while en route to another country, but the visa did not permit that type of travel. As a result, Y.W. was denied entry to the United States and deported. They were subsequently granted a waiver for the prior deportation and allowed to lawfully return to continue their studies. On April 4, Y.W. received a phone call from their school’s international students’ office informing them that their SEVIS status was terminated.



H.G., a current graduate student, came to study in the United States on a student visa in 2019 and received an undergraduate degree. They later traveled on multiple visas, including B-2, A-2, and F-1. In 2021, H.G. was arrested, but all charges were dismissed. H.G. disclosed the incident to authorities before receiving any new visas.



W.X., the final plaintiff, has been in the U.S. since 2017 and is working in a STEM field under OPT status. W.X. holds a high school diploma, an undergraduate degree, and a graduate degree. Their SEVIS record was terminated due to a flag in a criminal background check. The lawsuit states that W.X. was arrested in 2024 but never charged.



The five plaintiffs are seeking restoration of their SEVIS records and protection from detention or deportation during legal proceedings. The complaint states that “ICE’s en masse SEVIS terminations have created havoc and uncertainty for schools.”



In the Bay Area alone, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/04/08/4-sf-state-graduates-f1-visas-revoked/">dozens</a> of students have had their visas terminated; nationally, hundreds have been affected. Other lawsuits are pending across the U.S. In Georgia, 17 international students filed a lawsuit alleging that ICE unlawfully used SEVIS to rescind their legal status.&nbsp;



Nightingale said his top priority is to protect the plaintiffs from deportation or retribution while they fight the case. “We are working out how to keep their identities confidential and try to obtain temporary protection for them, but we don&#8217;t know exactly what that&#8217;s going to look like,” he said. The plaintiffs are waiting on a temporary restraining order, which can take up to a few weeks to secure.

San Francisco supervisor opens up about autism diagnosis

Growing up, Bilal Mahmood knew he was different. He struggled with making eye contact, shaking hands, and hugging others. Building friendships didn’t come easily.



In 2021, when he entered San Francisco politics — a world that demands constant social interaction and public speaking — he sought medical help, and in his mid-30s, he was officially diagnosed with Level 1 autism, a mild form of the disorder that affects his communication, behaviors, and ways of thinking.



“There are a lot of misconceptions about autism, and we’re seeing a trend of more people sharing their personal stories,” Mahmood told The Standard in an interview. “We have to destigmatize autism.”



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2000" height="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8837404451_bilalmahmood_020.jpg?w=2000" alt="A smiling man in a gray suit and white shirt sits at a table with his hands crossed, in front of a large window with a blurred modern building background." class="wp-image-386105" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8837404451_bilalmahmood_020.jpg 2000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8837404451_bilalmahmood_020.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8837404451_bilalmahmood_020.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8837404451_bilalmahmood_020.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/8837404451_bilalmahmood_020.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mahmood says he was diagnosed with autism in 2021.</figcaption></figure>



April is Autism Awareness Month, and the <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/11/10/bilal-mahmood-poised-to-defeat-dean-preston-in-district-5/">newly elected District 5 supervisor</a>, who represents the Tenderloin, Fillmore, and Japantown, is expected to discuss his autism diagnosis at the Tuesday board meeting and plans to use his own history to bring attention and resources to the often-overlooked neurodivergent community.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discrimination-in-politics">Discrimination in politics?</h2>



A tech entrepreneur, Mahmood lost a bid for state Assembly in 2022 but won a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 2024. In private conversations during those campaigns, he said, he was “taken aback” by questions about his ability to hold public office as an autistic person.



“I think that was a little jarring,” Mahmood said. “It was one of the first times I ever felt discriminated against in that context.”



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While Mahmood has adapted to the classic “shaking hands, kissing babies” side of politics, he doesn’t consider his diagnosis a disability —&nbsp;rather, a different style of functioning. Mahmood also revealed that he’s highly sensitive to scheduling: minor disruptions can cause stress, a common trait among people with autism.



As a child, he was obsessed with encyclopedias and found it hard to process fictional stories.



“I’m extremely literal. Sarcasm is really difficult for me,” he said.



By sharing his diagnosis and introducing a resolution to raise awareness of autism, Mahmood hopes to empower others on the spectrum. He points out that many autistic individuals have unique strengths, such as the ability to focus and think deeply.



Mahmood may be the first elected official in San Francisco history to publicly disclose an autism diagnosis. In 2021, Pennsylvania lawmaker Jessica Benham became one of the <a href="https://www.today.com/health/pa-state-rep-jessica-benham-one-1st-politicians-autism-t205917">first in the country to do so</a>, revealing she’d been diagnosed with autism in college.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2500" height="1667" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/supervisors-fighting-for-presidency-a-black-horse-wins_aar_25.jpg?w=2500" alt="Three individuals are raising their right hands, likely taking an oath. They wear formal attire, with two men in suits and a woman in a blue blazer." class="wp-image-353142" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/supervisors-fighting-for-presidency-a-black-horse-wins_aar_25.jpg 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/supervisors-fighting-for-presidency-a-black-horse-wins_aar_25.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/supervisors-fighting-for-presidency-a-black-horse-wins_aar_25.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/supervisors-fighting-for-presidency-a-black-horse-wins_aar_25.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/supervisors-fighting-for-presidency-a-black-horse-wins_aar_25.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mahmood hopes to use his position on the Board of Supervisors to advocate for the neurodivergent community.</figcaption></figure>



As San Francisco faces budget cuts, Mahmood wants to see continued funding to support youth with disabilities, especially through the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families.



He recently attended a town hall hosted by The Arc, an organization funded by the department that supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He described the disabled community as the city’s most vulnerable group, whose members must fight for basic needs, like accessible Muni service. Mahmood said the city must protect these essential lifelines.



The Arc partners with the San Francisco Unified School District to support youth with disabilities as they transition from high school to college, employment, and independent living. According to a state audit, autism diagnoses within SFUSD have steadily risen over the past five years and affect approximately 1,800 students.



In response, the district has expanded its special education services.



“Our students who receive special education services deserve nothing less than a system that works for them,” said Superintendent Dr. Maria Su, describing the changes as long overdue.



Mahmood, who <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/11/18/sf-board-of-supervisors-2024/">turns 38 this month</a>, said he wishes he had learned more about autism when he was younger but believes it&#8217;s never too late to step up for the next generation.



“We can give them the supportive learning environment I never had growing up so they can unlock their full potential earlier than I was able to,” he said.

‘Out of his depth’: UC Berkeley faculty question new chancellor’s will to fight a Trump blitzkrieg

A brawl with a bear on cocaine.&nbsp;



That’s how one faculty member of UC Berkeley described the current political moment in front of a packed <a href="https://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/meetings/special-meetings/emergency-town-hall-on-federal-landscape">emergency town hall</a> staged by the school’s Academic Senate on Tuesday. The bear in the analogy is the Trump administration; the cocaine is its fiendish appetite for punishing academic institutions. And the brawl? That’s what’s facing UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons, who has been on the job all of eight months and who clearly didn’t sign up for this.



At the 90-minute town hall, which was closed to the press but recounted to The Standard by several sources who attended, Lyons was persistently, if respectfully, grilled by faculty members. Many worried they were facing an existential threat to their research — and their livelihoods.&nbsp;



“I now find myself thinking, ‘Do we have any money?,’ or are we coming to work each day to find out if we&#8217;re out on the street?” said one researcher, who requested to remain anonymous. “I haven’t seen or heard of anything about a plan to avoid that.”



If implemented by the Trump administration — as it has already done at Columbia and Princeton —&nbsp;federal cuts could financially devastate UC Berkeley, which receives more than $400 million from the U.S. government, half of its operating budget. As Chancellor, Lyons has yet to publicly address any specific actions the university intends to take to ensure that it can survive such cuts. Nor has he outlined a plan to address other politically driven attacks on its operations and culture.&nbsp;



That left some attendees Tuesday wondering if Lyons is the kind of wartime leader Berkeley needs. Despite some faculty members saying they appreciated the chancellor’s willingness to take their questions at the town hall, not all were optimistic about his ability to win this particular bear fight.&nbsp;



“Lyons seems to be completely out of his depth and ill-equipped to deal with what’s about to happen,” said one longtime faculty member.



Claudia Polsky, a clinical professor of law and the founding director of UC Berkeley’s Environmental Law Clinic, left the town hall feeling reassured that administrators are “in minute-to-minute conversations with regents and the UC president to figure out how to respond, how to not to capitulate,” she said.&nbsp;



“The overall sentiment Lyons expressed was to the effect of, I know I haven&#8217;t been here long enough to have earned your trust, and I know it’s a big leap to put trust in me, but I need you to know that just because you&#8217;re not seeing much that looks like action, it doesn&#8217;t mean action isn&#8217;t happening,” she added.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote>&#8216;We’re seeing around the country that administrators are weaker than their faculty. So it’s on us, because the option of appeasement is naive.&#8217; <cite>UC Berkeley faculty member</cite></blockquote></figure>



Other people present said Lyons and another speaker, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Benjamin Hermalin, told faculty the school should “stand tall” and has license to “poke the bear,” but it should be strategic about what battles it chooses to fight. That led to the cocaine-bear riposte, which was met with heavy applause.



Another questioner drew a sustained round of applause after urging Lyons and other administrators to push back on a separate proposed budget cut at the state level, which could reduce annual funding of the entire UC system by 8%, or almost $300 million. The state should be showing “solidarity” with its university system, the person said. Lyons said administrators are indeed having those conversations with state representatives.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="2500" width="2000" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8734058713_berkeleyprotest_8.jpg?w=2000" alt="People hold protest signs reading &quot;Defend Berkeley,&quot; &quot;Teach Palestine,&quot; and &quot;Free speech movement was born in Berkeley,&quot; with a tower in the background." class="wp-image-380226" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8734058713_berkeleyprotest_8.jpg 2400w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8734058713_berkeleyprotest_8.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8734058713_berkeleyprotest_8.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8734058713_berkeleyprotest_8.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8734058713_berkeleyprotest_8.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/8734058713_berkeleyprotest_8.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A protest March 19 at Sproul Plaza.</figcaption></figure>



&nbsp;Nevertheless, there was not much relief that came from the meeting. The administrators insisted that the financial situation is not as bad as the one the school endured after the 2008 Great Recession, when it was also hit with deep funding cuts. That claim “felt hard to believe,” according to one attendee.



“The feeling is: It is inevitable; everyone knows it’s coming,” James Vernon, a distinguished professor of history, said of federal funding cuts. “It’s a tsunami. Lyons is not going to be able to fill that hole.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-he-s-ours">‘He’s ours’</h2>



When Lyons took up the role of chancellor last summer, it was to fanfare and praise. Even typically wary Berkeley faculty were open to the ascension of Lyons, who had previously run the Haas School of Business (with a prior pre-Great Recession stint at Goldman Sachs) and is the first chancellor in the school’s 157-year history to have graduated from the institution he now runs.



“I do have trust in him because he’s ours, he was an undergrad,” said Bill Drummond, a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism and a faculty member for more than 40 years. Drummond said Lyons was instrumental a decade ago in getting the San Quentin News project off the ground, by pulling some of his business-school colleagues together to draft a financial plan. “My conviction is that he’s a very capable guy,” he said.



Lyons is certainly a capable fundraiser. He is <a href="https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/09/24/uc-berkeley-chancellor-rich-lyons-interview">credited</a> with bringing $350 million to the Haas School of Business and was well-liked in that academic circle. In 2020, he created the <a href="https://changemaker.berkeley.edu/">Changemaker program</a>, a certificate students can earn to develop their biggest ideas for changing the world. He’s known to perform entire sets of original music, playing guitar and singing, at school events.



“For a person who’s worked on Wall Street and then as dean of a business school, he’s probably one of the most progressive, permissive people you can find with that background,” said one faculty member.



Those characteristics, however, may not ingratiate him to a U.S. president who wants to undermine the very existence of universities like UC Berkeley. Should federal cuts come to pass, most of Berkeley’s research institutions and labs could close overnight, say faculty members.&nbsp;



Even before Trump returned to the White House, Lyons knew UC Berkeley needed to be on better financial footing. When he was a student in the 1980s, California funded roughly 50% of UC Berkeley’s costs. Today it covers about 10%, and the state’s latest budget proposal will lower that further. Lyons said in media interviews at the time of his appointment that he wanted to drive more revenue through a new venture capital fund; negotiate more ownership stakes in companies that use intellectual property developed at the school; and increase fundraising and philanthropic giving. He said such activity could generate $100 million for the school in 10 years.



That won’t be nearly enough to cover the state and federal cuts coming his way. Lyons and Hermalin reportedly said at the town hall that in order to help on those fronts, they are bullish on the idea of further engagement with leaders of the business community, given how much they hire from Berkeley and rely on its intellectual property.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1573" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined07_apostcardfromucberkeley.jpg?w=2500" alt="People walk over brick pavement with the phrase &quot;END THE OCCUPATION&quot; chalked in large letters. Shadows suggest bright sunlight." class="wp-image-270934" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined07_apostcardfromucberkeley.jpg 6545w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined07_apostcardfromucberkeley.jpg?resize=300,189 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined07_apostcardfromucberkeley.jpg?resize=768,483 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined07_apostcardfromucberkeley.jpg?resize=2500,1573 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined07_apostcardfromucberkeley.jpg?resize=1536,967 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/inlined07_apostcardfromucberkeley.jpg?resize=2048,1289 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A chalk statement last April on campus calls for an end to the war in Gaza. The Justice Department last month opened an investigation into Berkeley for &#8220;allowing an antisemitic hostile work environment.&#8221;</figcaption></figure>



That turned into a brief conversation about how the school may need to “reframe quintessential Berkeley values” — in other words, change the way the university talks about itself. The school’s stated principles include “excellence in diversity,” “free speech,” and “equitable access.” The administrators suggested that to appeal to business leaders, UC Berkeley should focus more on economic competitiveness, as well as national security — <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/12/stanford-students-want-in-on-the-military-tech-gold-rush/">themes that have taken root </a>among students at the school’s longtime rival, Stanford.



Lyons declined multiple interview requests from The Standard through press representative Dan Mogulof, who said the chancellor was “complying with guidance from the president of the university” and directed any questions to the office of UC President Michael V. Drake. Drake’s office did not respond to emails seeking comment.



Some faculty members, however, made it clear that it’s not actually up to the chancellor to decide Berkeley’s future. “It’s on us to push him to do the right thing,” one longtime member said. “We’re seeing around the country that administrators are weaker than their faculty. So it’s on us, because the option of appeasement is naive.”&nbsp;



“Faculty here have never been quite as radical as people may think, but they are very committed to their own individual work,” said another faculty member. “People see what’s happening now as a fundamental risk to their work.”&nbsp;



At least 400 faculty members and supporters gathered on campus two weeks ago for the “Rally to Defend Our University.” There is another action planned for April 17, said Polsky, who is hoping to get 5,000 people to attend.



“We’re dealing with attacks coming in days and hours, not weeks and months,” the law professor said. “Faculty is trying to design strategies quickly that put us on the offense, not waiting for the closure of labs, the abduction of students, and then reacting.”



Polsky wants UC Berkeley to “write the playbook” on how to fight and win against Trump. She even has a term for what she’s seeing: “fast fascism.” Whether Lyons and other administrators have the reflexes to contend with that blitzkrieg is the question that looms over all of campus.

Dream Keeper is back: Lurie relaunches scandal-plagued initiative with ethics guardrails

For more than five months, San Francisco’s Black community saw a dream deferred.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/07/22/san-francisco-dream-keeper-intiative-black-community-whistleblower/">dramatic scandal</a> led ex-Mayor London Breed to <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/17/london-breed-dream-keeper-initiative-sheryl-davis/">freeze funding from Dream Keeper Initiative</a>, a city program aimed at uplifting Black organizations.



Now some of those funds will flow once again. But with a catch.



The program will hit the reset button, accepting new proposals from nonprofit groups to obtain funding, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Friday morning.&nbsp;



The intent is to have a fresh start.&nbsp;



The relaunched Dream Keeper will face ramped-up financial scrutiny intended to prevent the misuse of funds that previously plagued the program. An evaluation panel will review contracts to prevent conflicts of interest, and new standardized criteria will be used for all contracts.



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The city will fill grant proposals up to $12 million annually for three years. Dr. Jonathan Butler, president of the San Francisco NAACP chapter, said it’s a small but sorely needed investment. 



“I want the city to do right by those who are actually doing the good work, and not allow past mistakes to overshadow the many organizations doing great work in our community,” he said.



Alarm bells rang last fall after The Standard reported that Sheryl Davis, then-director of the Human Rights Commission, authorized contracts for a nonprofit led by a man she shared a home with, James Spingola. Davis later resigned, but the scandal continued to unfold.&nbsp;



On Thursday, it was revealed that Davis benefited from Dream Keeper funding <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/20/san-francisco-nonprofit-scandal-human-rights-commission-sheryl-davis-collective-impact/">to partially pay for her son’s college tuition</a>.



Breed’s move to freeze Dream Keeper funds rippled through Black-led groups that mentored students, helped first-time home buyers, and boosted arts programs, which <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/19/black-students-pay-the-price-in-city-hall-scandal-as-groups-across-city-fear-funding-loss/">feared layoffs</a> and even closure. 



The Black community led <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/02/10/san-francisco-dream-keeper-initiative-lurie/">silent protests</a> of the Board of Supervisors in their chambers and rallied on the steps of City Hall, calling for the funding to be reinstated. Many felt betrayed, saying groups that played by the rules were punished alongside those that erred.



Programs continue to see their funding pulled by the city. Out of more than 100 organizations funded, fewer than 20 are still receiving Dream Keeper funds, according to the Human Rights Commission. Some organizations that had received Dream Keeper award letters from the city saw those letters rescinded this week.



With Lurie pressing the reset button, new criteria will govern which groups are selected for grants. Multiyear grants will depend on performance, the funds will be awarded only to programs serving San Francisco residents, and only nonprofits will be given grants, whereas before individuals and businesses were allowed.



The fiscal malfeasance came in part from a lack of infrastructure to handle large amounts of funding, even though the programs had expertise in helping the community, according to the Human Rights Commission. 



To address that, Lurie’s relaunched Dream Keeper will <a href="https://www.sf.gov/information--human-rights-commission-funding-opportunities">come with new funding</a> to support small nonprofits that don’t have the staff to manage large funding commitments, helping them build out their infrastructure. 



&#8220;Our residents need to feel the benefit of every dollar our city spends,” Lurie said in a statement. “Effective organizations who are doing critical work in the community also need transparency and clarity from the city on how we are supporting them.”



The funding comes at a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the U.S. are shuttering under the directive of President Donald Trump. Joi Jackson-Morgan, CEO of the 3rd Street Youth Center &amp; Clinic, said Dream Keeper funding is especially important in light of Trump’s directives and the city’s looming $840 million budget deficit. 



“I really thank Mayor Lurie for making this commitment and addressing the needs of the Black community,” Jackson-Morgan said, especially with “what&#8217;s happening nationwide, the attack on communities like ours.”



“The uncertainty with different budget cuts,” she added, “it&#8217;s scary times.”&nbsp;

Ousted official used city cash for son’s UCLA tuition, probe finds

Investigators revealed new details Thursday about an ex-San Francisco department head who allegedly enriched herself through a corrupt scheme of bribes and illegal gifts that went on for years.



The city attorney’s office said Sheryl Davis, who <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/13/sheryl-davis-resigns-san-francisco-human-rights-commission/">resigned in September as Human Rights Commission</a> director, received tens of thousands of dollars from a city-funded organization that benefitted her personal business ventures, expensive travel, and her son’s tuition to UCLA. Davis left the commission after The Standard’s <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/12/san-francisco-dream-keeper-initiative-sheryl-davis-james-spingola-nonprofit/">reporting raised questions about her relationship with the nonprofit Collective Impact</a>.&nbsp;



Davis and Collective Impact, led by executive director James Spingola, were already under heavy scrutiny. Last fall, The Standard reported that Davis and Spingola shared a home and a car while the nonprofit received multiple six-figure contracts from the Human Rights Commission. Davis failed to disclose her relationship with Spingola when she personally signed off on the contracts.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="2500" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?w=2500" alt="A smiling man and woman stand together against a vibrant, colorful flower wall. The woman wears a red sleeveless top, and the man wears a blue shirt with white leaf prints." class="wp-image-311070" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg 2668w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?resize=2500,2500 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?resize=2048,2048 2048w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1101-humanrights-231006-edited.jpg?resize=180,180 180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Investigators alleged Thursday that Sheryl Davis and James Spingola had been involved in a years-long corruption scheme.</figcaption></figure>



That money was paid through the Human Rights Commission and its Dream Keeper Initiative, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/17/london-breed-dream-keeper-initiative-sheryl-davis/">a flagship program of former Mayor London Breed</a> that directed tens of millions of dollars of city money toward the city’s Black community. Other partner organizations of Dream Keeper have since been found to be misspending funds or not using the money they were given.



Investigators made additional allegations in a 28-page administrative report:



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<li>Davis’ personal podcast, &#8220;Sunday Candy,&#8221; received half of its booking costs from Collective Impact, amounting to more than $10,000 to pay her talent agency, GPS Speakers, which booked guests, including political activist Cornel West. Some of the money came from a city grant that was intended to support an out-of-school youth programming contract. That contract was also used to pay a singer, Goapele, $5,000 to perform at a party to launch Davis’ book “Free to Sing.” </li>



<li>Collective Impact paid to upgrade Davis to first class on flights, including $870 on airfare in 2023 to and from Chicago, where she performed a reading for her book. The nonprofit billed this expense to a young adult workforce development grant. The grant was also used to pay for first-class upgrades for Davis and a companion to a Palm Springs event where she promoted her podcast and book. </li>



<li>Davis and Spingola traveled together to a Martha’s Vineyard conference in August 2023, with the nonprofit billing nearly $50,000 to an educational grant to cover the expenses of the event. The grant explicitly prohibited using funds on conferences or travel. Collective Impact labeled the conference and travel expenses as “general supplies.” Another $16,319 was paid by Collective Impact for a weeklong stay at a “luxury” Martha’s Vineyard property used by Davis, Spingola, and others. </li>



<li>Collective Impact paid $19,000 for Davis’ son’s tuition at UCLA. It then invoiced the city for the expense.</li>



<li>Collective Impact also spent more than $75,000 in 2022 and 2023 on its own employees, including Spingola, and at least five city employees. In November 2023, the nonprofit paid for a Human Rights Commission employee’s rent, sending $2,469 to the staffer’s landlord. Collective Impact billed that payment to a Dream Keeper Grant.</li>



<li>Collective Impact paid three public defender’s office staffers $5,950 for their work on a city-run initiative called MAGIC, which operates programs benefitting youth in Bayview Hunters Point and the Fillmore. City employees are not supposed to be paid by outside organizations for their city work. Collective Impact invoiced some of those payments to a Dream Keeper grant.</li>
</ul>



The report released Thursday is “rife with inaccuracies, omissions, and outright misinformation,” and the city attorney is participating in a “public lynching,” Davis said in a statement provided by her attorney Tony Brass.



“[The report] deliberately casts aspersions on the Black women the city pushed out of [the Dream Keeper Initiative] while conveniently failing to mention that the white and non-Black employees of color who established the very protocols it now criticizes remain employed and untouched,” Davis said. “This selective accountability is not just telling — it is a glaring example of the anti-Blackness embedded in San Francisco’s political machinery.”



Collective Impact, which has received $27 million from San Francisco since 2021, was suspended Thursday from receiving city funding.



&#8220;Sorry, I can&#8217;t talk right now,&#8221; Spingola wrote in a text message after The Standard called him for comment.&nbsp;A person who answered the phone at Collective Impact deferred comment to Spingola.



The public defender&#8217;s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



A Human Rights Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations in the report.



&#8220;This department is now, as it has been over the last six months, cooperating with all investigations into HRC’s former director and department operations. Those investigations remain confidential,&#8221; said the spokesperson, Devi Zinzuvadia.



“Misusing grant funds for individual gain — or for the benefit of a select few — doesn’t just take away resources from the people in need,” Controller Greg Wagner said in a statement. “It erodes the confidence of those doing important work and unfairly casts a shadow on the organizations that are genuinely making every dollar count. Our residents deserve accountability.”&nbsp;



The city attorney’s office said there is an ongoing audit of the Human Rights Commission and Collective Impact.



“Our communities deserve these resources, and we cannot allow public monies to be diverted for personal benefit and self-promotion,” City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement. “All city employees have a responsibility to ensure that public funding is used as intended to deliver high-quality public services.”



The Rev. Amos Brown, a former president of the SF NAACP chapter who has been critical of media coverage surrounding the Dream Keeper scandal, suggested that such ethics investigations have disproportionately targeted Black leaders. He urged city leaders not to use the scandal to diminish the need for funding in the Black community, which has suffered historic injustices, causing the population to drastically decline.



“Right is right. Wrong is wrong. But we should be consistent for everybody,” Brown said. “The unfortunate thing in this society [is that] there are far too many instances where there has not been a consistent threat of justice.”



The city announced late last year that <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/10/scandal-ridden-sf-nonprofit-collective-impact-loses-contracts/">it was pulling five Collective Impact grants worth millions of dollars from two city departments</a>. In October, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/02/dream-keeper-initiative-director-leaves-job/">Saidah Leatutufu-Burch</a> resigned as director of the Dream Keeper Initiative, weeks after Davis’ departure.&nbsp;



Last week, the city controller’s office tied Davis to a separate nonprofit scandal, claiming that the Human Rights Commission <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/11/san-francisco-dwayne-jones-human-rights-commission-sheryl-davis/">had given special treatment to a nonprofit</a> whose founder is facing bribery charges.

SF departments ‘manipulated’ contracts with scandal-ridden nonprofit

Two investigations converged Tuesday as a nonprofit whose founder is facing bribery charges was given special treatment by the Human Rights Commission, a city department embroiled in scandal <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/03/san-francisco-dream-keeper-initiative-scandal-sheryl-davis/">over questionable spending</a> practices that surfaced last year.&nbsp;



Urban Ed Academy —&nbsp;founded by Dwayne Jones, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/09/07/san-francisco-bars-consultant-from-city-contracts-pending-bribery-charges/">who was charged in 2023</a> on felony counts related to misappropriation of public funds and bribery — was awarded grants by HRC despite having “significantly lower evaluation scores” than other organizations competing for funding, the controller’s office said.&nbsp;



A similar arrangement occurred with the Office of Economic Workforce and Development, which increased Urban Ed Academy&#8217;s grant from $437,000 to $1.2 million even though it had been notified that the nonprofit was not meeting performance metrics.



“The City’s competitive solicitation processes were seemingly manipulated or disregarded with respect to Urban Ed Academy, which resulted in irregularities in the award to and oversight of grants” to the nonprofit by the two city departments, the controller said in a Tuesday press release.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2134" height="1423" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Rudolph-Dwayne-Jones-.jpg?w=2134" alt="A man walks into a courtroom." class="wp-image-197200" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Rudolph-Dwayne-Jones-.jpg 2134w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Rudolph-Dwayne-Jones-.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Rudolph-Dwayne-Jones-.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Rudolph-Dwayne-Jones-.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Rudolph-Dwayne-Jones-.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2134px) 100vw, 2134px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Urban Ed Academy founder Dwayne Jones was charged in 2023 with multiple felonies.</figcaption></figure>



Jones pleaded not guilty to the felony counts in August 2023 and is awaiting trial. All city grants with Urban Ed Academy, which works to increase representation of Black teachers in classrooms, have either expired or been terminated.



Investigators also found what appeared to be ethical breaches between Urban Ed Academy and the Human Rights Commission, along with its former director Sheryl Davis, who <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/13/sheryl-davis-resigns-san-francisco-human-rights-commission/">resigned</a> in September 2024 <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/12/san-francisco-dream-keeper-initiative-sheryl-davis-james-spingola-nonprofit/">after The Standard reported she had approved grants to a nonprofit led by a man with whom she shared a home</a>.



Davis received a portrait worth $5,500 from Urban Ed Academy less than a month before she awarded the nonprofit a $270,000 grant, as <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/portrait-sf-official-gift-nonprofit-contractor-20192521.php">reported by the San Francisco Chronicle this month</a>.



In a statement, Urban Ed Academy&#8217;s Executive Director Kai Mathews wrote, &#8220;Our organization has undergone significant changes since February 2024, with new leadership and a renewed focus on our core objectives to ensure more educators are entering the profession at a time when there is a significant teacher shortage. We are dedicated to ensuring that Urban Ed Academy adheres to all applicable rules regarding public funding and have built systems and internal capacities to effectively and efficiently manage these funds.&#8221;



The city also discovered that HRC approved stipends for members of a committee connected to the Dream Keeper Initiative — <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/17/london-breed-dream-keeper-initiative-sheryl-davis/">a project founded by former Mayor London Breed</a> that directed community funding to the city’s Black residents — without the legal authority of the Board of Supervisors.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/inlined03-20240509sexassaulthearing.jpg?w=2500" alt="A woman speaks at a podium in a wood-paneled room, wearing glasses and a floral shirt. Several people are seated behind her, attentively listening." class="wp-image-274336" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/inlined03-20240509sexassaulthearing.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/inlined03-20240509sexassaulthearing.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/inlined03-20240509sexassaulthearing.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/inlined03-20240509sexassaulthearing.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/inlined03-20240509sexassaulthearing.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/inlined03-20240509sexassaulthearing.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Former Human Rights Commission director Sheryl Davis received a $5,500 portrait from the nonprofit just before awarding it a $270,000 grant.</figcaption></figure>



Those stipends, paid to the Dream Keeper Initiative’s Community Accountability Committee, were sent through a nonprofit that received HRC funding. It was not immediately clear whether that nonprofit was Urban Ed Academy or a different organization.&nbsp;



Randal Seriguchi Jr., Urban Ed Academy’s executive director until January 2024, was sitting on the Community Accountability Committee while his nonprofit was receiving HRC funding, the controller said.



“The misuse of public dollars is a disservice to the many people and programs that do critical work every day to support our marginalized communities and the people who depend on City resources,” Controller Greg Wagner said in a statement.&nbsp;



City Attorney David Chiu added, “To provide grant funding to those who need it most, we must weed out self-dealing and favoritism. The community deserves grant programs that are monitored effectively and operated transparently.”



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The controller’s office is auditing activities related to HRC, including bookkeeping and an assessment of its services.&nbsp;



The city is also looking into grant agreements with Collective Impact, which is led by James Spingola, the individual who shared a home with Davis. In December, the city pulled grants from <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/10/scandal-ridden-sf-nonprofit-collective-impact-loses-contracts/">Collective Impact</a>, citing concerns of conflict of interest. 



In a statement, the Human Rights Commission said it has cooperated fully with ongoing investigations. 



“The Human Rights Commission is committed to transparency, accountability, and meaningful reforms to strengthen our operations allowing us to better serve San Francisco’s diverse communities and most vulnerable residents,&#8221; said a spokesperson.

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