Education

San Diego County School Districts

According to the 2020 Census, San Diego County is home to 42 school districts. Of these, 13 districts are unified, comprising of both primary and secondary schools. 23 districts are primary and 6 districts are secondary. The county has 5 community college districts and 129 charter schools. In recent years, concern has risen over San Diego County being divided into a large number of districts, some of which serve a relatively small number of students. Despite calls to consolidate school districts, recent attempts at unifications in the past decade were rejected by district boards and other decision-making stakeholders.

Map of San Diego County with demarcations of 42 public school districts. Source: https://www.sdcoe.net/schools/finder

Primary Districts

Alpine Union Elementary

Alpine Union Elementary School District consists of 5 elementary schools and learning centers in Alpine, California in east San Diego County. Alpine Union Elementary serves a total of about 1,750 students in grades TK-8.

Cajon Valley Union Elementary

Valley Union Elementary School District consists of 28 elementary schools, middle schools, and learning academies in Ej Cajon and Rancho San Diego.

Cardiff Elementary

Elementary School District consists of 2 schools in Encinitas, California in north San Diego County. The district serves students in grades K-6.

Chula Vista Elementary

Vista Elementary School District consists of 49 elementary schools and charter middle and high schools across Chula Vista, Bonita, Sunnyside, and South San Diego. The district serves students in grades TK-12.

Dehesa Elementary

Dehesa School District consists of a single school in El Cajon, east San Diego County, serving students in grades TK-8.

Del Mar Union Elementary

Del Mar Union School District consists of 11 schools in Del Mar and San Diego, serving students in grades TK-6. In May 2022, Del Mar Union was involved in a lawsuit against local nonprofit Save the Field, which accused the City of San Diego of violating the California Environmental Quality Act to rebuild the Del Mar Heights School. In June 2022, a San Diego County Superior Court judge halted construction after identifying environmental flaws in the school district's plans. The project began in 2019, with the school district hoping to complete the rebuild for the 2020-21 school year, however, legal proceedings initiated by Save the Field have caused the projected completion date to move to May 2023. For the duration of the rebuilding process, Del Mar Heights students were relocated to Del Mar Hills and Ocean Air School, causing parent groups and Del Mar Union spokespeople to argue against further delays.

Encinitas Union Elementary

Encinitas Union School District consists of 9 schools in Encinitas and the Rancho La Costa area in North San Diego County, serving approximately 5,400 students in grades K-6.

La Mesa-Spring Valley Elementary

La Mesa-Spring Valley School District consists of 18 elementary schools, 5 middle schools and learning academies, and a preschool and transitional kindergarten. The districts serves students in the East County area of San Diego County.

Lakeside Union Elementary

Lakeside Union School District is located in Hanford, CA, serving students in grades K-8.

Lemon Grove Elementary

Lemon Grove School District consists of 8 schools, serving approximately 3,400 students in grades Pre-K-8.

National Elementary

National Elementary School District consists of 10 elementary schools and one preschool, serving students in grades K-6 in National City, CA, south of San Diego.

Rancho Santa Fe Elementary

Rancho Santa Fe School District consists of one elementary school and one middle school, serving just over 600 students in grades K-8. The district serves students from the Rancho Santa Fe, Elfin Forest, El Cielo, and The Bridges communities.

San Ysidro Elementary

San Ysidro School District consists of 8 elementary, middle and preschools. The community served by the district lies adjacent to the United-States Mexico International Border.

Santee

Santee School District consists of 9 schools, serving approximately 6,400 students in grades K-8.

Solana Beach Elementary

Solana Beach School District consists of 7 elementary schools, serving students in grades K-6.

South Bay Union

South Bay School District consists of 12 schools, including preschools, elementary, and charter schools. The district serves approximately 6,000 students in grades TK-8 and about 340 preschool students in the Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, and south San Diego regions.

Spencer Valley Elementary

Spencer Valley School District serves students in grades TK-8.

Vallecitos Elementary

Vallecitos School District consists of one elementary school serving students in grades K-8.

Secondary Districts

Escondido Union High

Escondido Union High School District consists of 7 schools, including the Escondido Adult School.

Fallbrook Union High

Fallbrook Union High School District consists of 3 schools, serving a total of approximately 1,950 students in grades 9-12.

Grossmont Union High

Grossmont Union High consists of 10 high schools, 2 charter high schools, and an adult school.

Julian Union High

Julian Union School District consists of one high school, serving approximately 100 students in grades 9-12.

San Dieguito Union High

San Dieguito Union School District consists of 9 middle and high schools, serving students in grades 8-12.

Sweetwater Union High

Sweetwater Union School District consists of 32 schools, serving more than 36,000 students in grades 7-12 and more than 10,000 adult learners.

Unified Districts

Warner Unified

Warner Unified School District consists of 10 schools, including multiple charter schools, adult education programs, and a continuation high school.

Valley Center-Pauma Unified

Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District consists of 8 elementary, middle, and high schools, serving approximately 4,000 students in grades TK-12.

Bonsall Unified

Bonsall Unified consists of 5 elementary, middle, and high schools serving students in grades TK-12.

Borrego Springs Unified

Borrego Springs consists of 5 schools, including a preschool and an online learning academy. The district serves students in grades TK-12.

Carlsbad Unified

Carlsbad Unified School District consists of 14 elementary, middle, and high schools serving more than 11,000 students.

In October 2022, the school board trustee election for Area 1 of the Carlsbad Unified School District gained significant attention due to candidate Sharon McKeeman, a North County resident whose organization Let Them Breathe gained national attention due to its efforts to remove mask mandates from schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. McKeeman lost against Michelle Ward, who currently serves on the Carlsbad Unified Board of Trustees. Candidate forums and campaigning leading up to the election were viewed as contentious during this time.

Coronado Unified

Coronado Unified School District consists of 8 elementary, and high schools in Pauma Valley and Valley Center in northern San Diego County. The district serves approximately 4,000 students in grades PK-12.

Mountain Empire Unified

Mountain Empire Unified School District consists of 10 schools, including early childhood education center and an alternative learning academy. The district serves approximately 1,700 students in grades TK-12.

Oceanside Unified

Oceanside Unified School District consists of 15 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 2 high schools, 1 adult training program, and 1 alternative education school.

Poway Unified

Poway Unified School District consists of 41 schools, serving approximately 35,200 students in grades TK-12 and about 8,000 students in adult education and career technical education programs each. It is the 3rd largest school district in San Diego County.

Ramona City Unified

Ramona Unified School District consists of 13 elementary, middle, high, and adult schools.

SBE and SBC Structures

SBC - High Tech High

High Tech High (HTH) is an integrated system of 16 charter schools in Chula Vista, Claremont Mesa, North County, and Point Loma. HTH serves about 6,350 students from grades K-12.

San Diego County Office of Education

The San Diego County of Education was founded in 1948 to provide business, curricular, and other support to all school districts, community college districts, and charter schools in San Diego County.

Local Policy Topics

Local Control and Accountability Plans

The California Board of Education enacted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in 2013-14 to restructure the way local educational agencies receive funding and optimize the measures used to gauge results. In addition to providing general assistance to local agencies, the LCFF creates funding targets based on student demographics and possible performance issues that agencies may be facing.

The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) was a key aspect of this restructuring, creating a framework that allows school district boards, teachers, and parents to provide their input on annual goals, action plans, and how state funding will be used to improve services for foster youth, English learners, and low-income students.

Like districts in other Californian counties, San Diego County school districts have oversight committees and stakeholder groups that convene to finalize the annual LCAPs. The contents of district LCAPs are often widely debated as districts attempt to reach consensus on their priorities for the upcoming school year.

2020 Pandemic Shutdowns and Mask Mandates

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, San Diego County school districts experienced shutdowns in the spring of the 2019-2020 school year. Disagreements regarding mask mandates at schools for the 2020-21 school year made national headlines as stakeholders attempted to

In July 2022, San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) President Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne defended the district's decision to reinstate its indoor mask mandate for summer schools. Her interview with KUSI News garnered attention from parent groups with negative sentiments towards indoor masking at the time, and the district faced backlash from such parent groups. The main grievances conveyed were related to "over-reaching by the government" and the alleged negative impact that masking may have had on students' social and educational development.

Community College Districts

San Diego Community College District

The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) comprises 3 campuses — San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College. These 3 colleges serve a total of approximately 100,000 students each year. Additionally, the 7 campuses of the San Diego College of Continuing Education fall under the SDCCD's jurisdiction.

Grossmont–Cuyamaca Community College District

The Grossmont–Cuyamaca Community College District (GCCCD) comprises 2 campuses — Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College. The GCCCD serve a total of approximately 24,000 students each year.

MiraCosta Community College District

The MiraCosta Community College District comprises 1 community college — MiraCosta Community College — in in North San Diego County. The college serves a total of approximately 14,000 students each yer.

San Diego State University

San Diego State University(SDSU) is a public research university that was founded in 1897. SDSU is part of the California State University system, serving more than 36,000 students each year in the city of San Diego.