From Fox News: San Francisco is restoring eighth-grade algebra after more than a decade, with the San Francisco Board of Education voting 4-3 Tuesday night to approve the change, reversing a controversial policy that had eliminated the course in middle schools in the name of equity.
The vote follows years of debate over academic rigor, access and declining outcomes, as families increasingly pushed the district to expand advanced coursework options.
“Families want to see a public school system that offers rigorous coursework. This is absolutely an instructional strategy,” school board President Phil Kim said, according to The New York Times. “But it’s also a retention tool to bring families to our district and demonstrate we will not only take care of your children, but we will teach them, too.”
The original policy, implemented roughly 12 years ago, was designed to give students more time to master foundational math before advancing. However, the results fell short of expectations, the Times reported.
Algebra will now return as an option for all eighth graders across the district, and will be offered as an elective taken alongside standard math classes.
Conservative podcaster Katie Miller, wife of Trump advisor Stephen Miller, weighed in on the report. She wrote:
Twelve years ago, San Francisco killed 8th-grade Algebra in the name of equity. Advanced math enrollment (including AP Calculus) dropped, and racial gaps expanded.
China graduates ~1.3 million engineers yearly vs. just 130,000 in the U.S. Last night, the SF school board finally voted 4-3 to bring math back. When DEI overrides academic standards, America falls behind.
Twelve years ago, San Francisco killed 8th-grade Algebra in the name of equity. Advanced math enrollment (including AP Calculus) dropped, and racial gaps expanded.
China graduates ~1.3 million engineers yearly vs. just 130,000 in the U.S.
Last night, the SF school board finally…
— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) March 25, 2026
In December, a red flag was raised that one of the San Francisco activists who pushed to ban middle school algebra in the name of “equity” is now running for a seat on the school board.
One of the San Francisco activists who fought to ban middle school algebra for “equity”, Brandee Marckmann, has filed to run for the @SFUnified Public School Board.
Like a cancer these people will keep trying to return when voters aren’t paying attention. https://t.co/NL2uEyu8CH pic.twitter.com/yrY4Zry9US
— Kane 謝凱堯 (@kane) December 17, 2025
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