San Diego Unified School District

What San Diego Unified School District does

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is a public K-12 school district operating under the authority of the California State Board of Education, serving approximately 95,000 students across 113 schools in San Diego County. It is California's second-largest school district by enrollment, established in 1859, and governed by an elected Board of Education with five trustees plus two student members. The district delivers a comprehensive K-12 curriculum spanning Transitional Kindergarten through grade 12, including Special Education, Career Technical Education, Visual and Performing Arts, Multilingual Education, Gifted and Talented Education, Adult Education, and the iHigh Virtual Academy. It also operates PrimeTime, a fee-based before- and after-school care program.

The district's revenue model relies on California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which allocates state funding based on average daily attendance and supplemental demographics, complemented by federal grants and voter-approved General Obligation bonds (Propositions S and Z, Measure YY). Education services are provided free of charge to district residents; revenue from bond proceeds is restricted to capital projects, including the Whole Site Modernization program that has delivered 50 Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten facilities. The district maintains a AAA long-term credit rating from KBRA on both outstanding and 2026 refunded GO bonds.

The operational technology stack is built on commercial third-party platforms rather than proprietary systems: Canvas (Instructure) for learning management at the middle and high school level, PowerSchool for the student information system and parent portal, Clever for single sign-on, SchoolMessenger for district communications, and Google Workspace for Education for productivity. The district partners with AECOM as prime consultant on the nearly 25-year capital bond program. It does not publish a developer-facing API. Day-to-day administration is led by the elected Board, with the district headquarters at 4100 Normal Street, San Diego.

Name

San Diego Unified School District

Legal name

San Diego Unified School District

Website

https://sandiegounified.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1859

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

San Diego Unified School District is California's second-largest K-12 public school district, serving approximately 95,000 students across 113 schools in San Diego County with comprehensive programs from Transitional Kindergarten through adult education, funded by state LCFF allocations and voter-approved GO bonds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public K-12 Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public School Districts (K–12) (EDADABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE), Public Elementary Schools (EDAJAAAB), Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC), Full-Time Virtual K–12 Schools (Statewide/Cyber Charters & District Programs) (EDAJADAA)

Keywords

• Public K-12 education
• Special education services
• Career technical education
• Multilingual education programs
• School facility modernization

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. State and Federal Education Funding: Public school district receives funding through California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which allocates funds based on average daily attendance and student demographics. Additional state and federal grants support specific programs.
2. Bond Measures (Proposition S and Z): Community-approved bond measures finance capital improvements including new classroom construction, facility modernization, safety upgrades, and sustainability improvements. AECOM serves as prime consultant for these capital bond programs.
3. General Obligation Bonds: The district issues general obligation bonds backed by property tax revenues to fund school facility improvements. KBRA has assigned AAA ratings to the district's 2026 GO Refunding Bonds.
4. State Grants: The district receives state grants for specific initiatives such as the $2.1 million grant that previously supported restorative justice program positions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

San Diego Unified School District delivers free public K-12 education to approximately 95,000 students across 113 traditional, magnet, charter, and alternative schools in San Diego County. The district offers Transitional Kindergarten through 12th-grade programs, including specialized instruction in Special Education, Career Technical Education, Visual and Performing Arts, Multilingual Education, Gifted and Talented Education, Adult Education, and before/after-school care through PrimeTime. Service delivery is supported by Canvas LMS, PowerSchool, and Google Workspace, with capital improvements financed through community-approved bond measures.

Product overview

San Diego Unified School District is California's second-largest K-12 school district, serving approximately 95,000 students across a diverse portfolio of schools including traditional elementary, middle, and high schools; TK-8 schools; alternative schools; and virtual education through iHigh Virtual Academy. The district's technology infrastructure includes PowerSchool for student information management and Canvas as the learning management system. The district operates numerous specialized programs including Special Education, Career Technical Education (CTE), Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA), Multilingual Education, Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), Adult Education, and an Extended Day Program (PrimeTime). Major capital investments in facilities are ongoing through bond programs (Propositions S and Z, Measure YY), including school modernization projects and new construction such as the Morse High Performing Arts Center. The district serves as an educational service provider rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traditional K-12 Education Comprehensive K-12 educational programs across elementary (TK-5th), middle (6th-8th), and high school (9th-12th) grade levels, serving approximately 95,000 students as California's second-largest school district.
• iHigh Virtual Academy

Quantifiable outcome

• Students showed 7.7-fold increase in engagement and more than doubled reasoning and analytical skills through Mindsets experiential mathematics program
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AECOMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026AECOM has been selected by San Diego Unified School District to continue serving as prime consultant for the district's capital bond programs. The partnership extends a nearly 25-year relationship and involves program management support for delivering new classrooms, safety and security upgrades, and sustainability improvements across district schools. AECOM will work alongside 12 local and small business partners.
• MindsetsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2025Mindsets provides an experiential mathematics program to San Diego Unified School District. A WestEd report found significant student improvements in engagement, mathematical reasoning, and analytical thinking after participating in Mindsets Challenges.
• WestEdminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2025WestEd conducted research and published a report on student outcomes from San Diego Unified School District's implementation of Mindsets' experiential mathematics program.
• Local and Small Business PartnerscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner12 local and small business partners collaborate with AECOM on the district's capital bond programs for facility modernization across San Diego schools.
• Canvas (by Instructure)coreTechnology or IntegrationCanvas is the learning management system widely used by San Diego Unified School District's middle and high schools for course content delivery and student engagement. The district was impacted by a 2026 cyberattack on the Canvas platform by ShinyHunters hacking group.
• PowerSchoolcoreTechnology or IntegrationPowerSchool provides the district's parent/student portal for grade and attendance access, enrollment management, and registration systems.
• PrimeTimecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimeTime (sdusdelo.com) provides before and after school care programs for district students through extended learning opportunities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sdschools
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sandiegounifiedschooldistrict
• Facebookfacebook.com/SanDiegoUnified
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-diego-unified-school-district
• Instagraminstagram.com/sandiegounified

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Diego Unified School District