Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday previewed a major education plan that would give the next governor more authority over public school policies and redefine — and nearly diminish — the role of the district’s elected superintendent of public instruction.
The governor’s office indicated on Thursday that large parts of the proposal, which will be included in the state budget plan on Friday, are based on a December 2025 report from the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a non-participating institute that includes researchers from Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis and USC.
A central feature of the PACE plan calls for removing the state superintendent as head of the California Department of Education. Instead, that department will be managed by an appointee of the provincial Board of Education. Members of the state board are appointed by the governor for a fixed term of four years.
The PACE report envisions “the governor as the primary architect and administrator responsible for aligning and improving California’s education system.” According to the report, “the governor can establish long-term plans and use the budget as a strategic incentive to move them forward.”
A release from the governor’s office asserted that the state’s education system operates as “a collection of disparate organizations with diverse roles that sometimes work in conflict, to the detriment of educational services provided to students.”
This education plan, if approved by the Legislature, could prove a defining part of Newsom’s education plan in his last year in office. He would not use this new power, it would fall to his successor.
State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond expressed concern, while praising Newsom’s record on education.
“Gov. Newsom has done an outstanding job in education, one of the best governors we’ve had in education … and I think we’ve been more united than any superintendent and governor in recent memory,” said Thurmond, who is running against Newsom for governor. “On this one issue, I don’t think we can disagree.”
Here are the details and why Newsom wants to move forward with the plan.
Who controls what happens in California schools?
Authority over education is assigned to different officials.
The Legislature enacts laws relating to education. The governor chooses which one to sign. The governor also proposes what should be paid for education in his budget plan. The Legislature can amend the plan and is responsible for approving it.
The elected state superintendent heads the state Department of Education and serves as the executive leader of the state Board of Education. The superintendent does not have a vote on the board. In some areas, he answers to the authority of a government board; in others, he doesn’t.
The governor appoints the state board, which approves the wording of the state’s education policies. The board also approves curriculum and grants waivers to school districts seeking exemptions from state regulations.
What is the problem that Newsom says he is trying to fix?
The PACE report says the system is too complex. It is not clear who is in charge of what and who should be held accountable for the results.
This did not stop government officials from taking credit for positive developments or policies. Both Newsom and Thurmond are credited with creating a new interim kindergarten class for 4-year-olds and providing two school meals each day for all students.
Both were instrumental in supporting and implementing that policy, though it would not have been possible without Newsom’s grace.
Other parts of the education system are not doing so well. National student test scores and absenteeism rates — although improving — are worse than in 2018-19, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than half of California students meet state standards in English language arts and math.
As part of its work, the PACE research team conducted interviews with 16 past and present policy makers, researchers and educational leaders. Overall they rated the performance of the state’s education system somewhere between fair and poor when it comes to strategic thinking, accountability, power, knowledge governance, stakeholder participation and overall system vision.
What would the state superintendent do under the Newsom plan?
A news release from the governor said his plan “will expand and strengthen the ability of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to promote coordination and alignment of state education policies from early childhood through post-secondary education.”
Thurmond was not persuaded, based on his analysis of the PACE report, that the Department of Education could remove the superintendent.
That report reimagines the state superintendent as a student “champion” who would analyze and report on the effectiveness of the state’s education system and play an advocacy role.
PACE analysts noted that the Legislature will have to provide funding and staffing for the superintendent, in this new role, to be effective. Thurmond said that even under the current framework, the provincial Department of Education’s funding limits its effectiveness.
Thurmond said it would make more sense to give an elected public school leader greater authority over education spending and additional resources, given that person’s focus on education.
Why not just eliminate the elected superintendent of the country?
State voters rejected that option in the past. As well as the powerful teachers’ unions, who saw this office as a test of the manager’s power and a platform where they could campaign to join the union.
How does this play out politically?
Newsom has received credit for many things in education, including career and mentoring programs, funding for teacher training and expanding public schools, which serve the broader needs of the entire family.
“Just this year, we’ve seen improved academic achievement in all subjects, in all grades, for all student groups,” Newsom said in his prepared State of the State statement, “with significant gains in academics for Black and Latino children.”
He also took credit for the district’s highest per-student spending to date.
But he or his representatives have, at times, distanced themselves from Department of Education guidelines that have expanded the rights of transgender students, including, for example, the right of transgender students to play on girls’ sports teams.
California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is concerned about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to change the way public schools are run.
(Josh Edelson / For The Times)
Under the proposed plan, the future governor will be held more accountable for these and other policies.
Thurmond said Newsom’s impressive record proves the governor is still the most powerful official in the state when it comes to education — and that more power doesn’t need to be concentrated in that office.
What is the model of governance in other states?
If California were to adopt a model in which the state board appoints the head of the Department of Education, “it would be consistent with the majority of states that follow this form of administration,” the PACE report said.
In 20 states, including Massachusetts, New York, Florida and Mississippi, state boards of education directly appoint their chief school officers. Twelve states, including California, elect their superintendent by direct election.
Thurmond responded that even in other states with an appointed superintendent, the role has more authority than an elected superintendent in California.
