DESPERATION

San Francisco Sues to Force Schools to Reopen, Citing Sharp Increase in Suicidal Students

The lawsuit says there has been a 66 percent increase in suicidal children taken to the emergency room at one San Francisco hospital.

San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against the city’s school district in an attempt to force the reopening of classrooms, alleging there is a mental health crisis among students. The extraordinary lawsuit, which demands the district move to reopen schools, cites a 66 percent increase in suicidal children taken to the emergency room at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. In testimony included in the lawsuit, one parent shared that her child often cries uncontrollably in the middle of the remote school day. Another said her son throws unending temper tantrums. San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to file suit against its own school district to reopen. Tensions are running high in cities across the country as the pandemic approaches the one year mark and many schools remain closed to a majority of students.