US EditionNewsom's K-12 School Proposal Would Shift More Power to Governor, Board of Education
- On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a sweeping governance proposal that would unify the State Board of Education with the California Department of Education and reduce the State Superintendent's policymaking role.
- Historical reports described the California K‑12 governance system as fragmented and overlapping, with calls for streamlining dating back to 1920 and reinforced in a December 2025 PACE report.
- The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond would shift to fostering coordination across early childhood to postsecondary education, with support from the Association of California School Administrators and EdTrust‑West.
- With $137.6 billion allocated for K‑12, lawmakers must approve Newsom's overhaul during Thursday's State of the State speech, aiming to improve outcomes.
- The proposal revives debate over elected versus appointed chiefs; California is one of only nine states electing a schools chief, and ACA 9 was withdrawn amid opposition from the California Teachers Association and California School Boards Association.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Associated Press News
Newsom's K-12 school proposal would shift more power to governor, Board of Education
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday proposed paring down the responsibilities of California’s elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction and shifting more power to the State Board of Education.
Gov. Gavin Newsom moves to reshape who runs California's schools under budget plan
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday unveiled a sweeping proposal to overhaul how California's education system is governed, calling for structural changes that he said would shift oversight of the Department of Education and ...
Superintendent Tony Thurmond opposes Newsom's education proposal
By Carolyn Jones State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said he was blindsided by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal Thursday to curtail the superintendent’s duties and he disagrees with it, although it’s unclear what he can do to stop it. “Tony Thurmond is proud and grateful to work with Gov. Newsom. They’re both champions of public education,” said Elizabeth Sanders, spokeswoman for the California Department of Education, which Thu…
As part of the 2026–27 budget proposal, Governor Newsom proposes improving state education governance
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced a new education governance proposal that will be a key initiative in his 2026-27 State Budget. The plan would implement long-standing recommendations to strengthen California’s governance system.“California can no longer postpone reforms that have been recommended regularly for a century. So we are going to modernize the governance system by unifying the policy-making State Board with the Depart…
As part of his state budget proposal, Governor Newsom will propose improving support and oversight for schools.
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