Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media
California lawmakers have approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to create an Education Commissioner, shifting executive control of the state’s public schools from the independently elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) to a Governor-appointed official.
Introducing the proposal during his final State of the State address, Newsom said California had improved academic achievement, including gains among Black and Latino students, but argued the state’s education governance structure needed modernization.
“It’s long overdue that we modernize the management of our educational system,” Newsom said. He proposed bringing the State Board of Education and the California Department of Education into a more coordinated governance structure.
Created under Assembly Bill (AB) 181 and funded through Senate Bill (SB) 111, the Education Commissioner will be appointed by the Governor, confirmed by the Senate and serve at the Governor’s pleasure. The Commissioner will manage the California Department of Education (CDE), duties previously carried out by the SSPI.
The restructuring comes as California continues to struggle with persistent achievement gaps. During the Assembly floor debate before voting on the proposal, supporters noted that more than half of California students do not meet state English language arts standards, nearly two-thirds fall short in mathematics, and Black students continue to post among the state’s lowest proficiency rates.
They argued that the current governance structure has blurred accountability for educational outcomes and that the new model creates clearer responsibility for improving those results. Critics counter there is no evidence indicating that a reorganization alone will raise student achievement.
The Education Commissioner will administer state and federal education programs, implement policies adopted by the State Board of Education and coordinate education policy from early childhood through higher education. The Commissioner also must submit an interim report on a second phase of education governance reform by June 30, 2027, followed by final recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by Oct. 1, 2027.
AB 181 also expands the State Board of Education from 11 to 13 members. The Governor will continue to appoint most members, while the SSPI becomes a voting member and the President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint one member. The Board will continue to adopt statewide education policy, while the Education Commissioner oversees its implementation through CDE.
The SSPI will remain an elected statewide office, but its role shifts from directing CDE to education advocacy, independent evaluations requested by the Legislature, reporting on the condition of public education, and serving as a voting member of the State Board of Education and the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.
Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego), author of AB 181, said “Student performance must improve,” describing the legislation as “just the beginning” of broader governance reforms intended to strengthen accountability and improve educational outcomes.
Marshall Tuck, chief executive officer of EdVoice, said,“Aligning the California Department of Education more closely with the State Board of Education creates clearer lines of authority, increased accountability, and greater coherence across California’s education system.” He said the change will strengthen support for California’s more than 1,000 school districts and improve student outcomes.
Troy Flint, chief communications officer for the California School Boards Association (CSBA), told California Black Media (CBM), “AB 181 is a needed reform that creates a clearer and more streamlined model with the potential to enhance coherence and transparency in state government, but it is merely the first step toward an improved system of education governance.”
Flint said California still needs an operational framework that establishes statewide goals, measures progress and evaluates results.
“Fixing the org chart alone will not address these issues,” he said.
SSPI Tony Thurmond told CBM he supports improving California’s education governance system and said having an Education Commissioner who reports to the Governor “is not an unusual thing.”
However, Thurmond said, “the governor and the backers of this proposal have never articulated a single outcome measure.”
“I’d rather be talking about things that we know are proven to help kids do better,” he said, including literacy, dyslexia screening, high-dose tutoring, phonics and the science of reading. He also said “the effect and the outcome of this is to weaken” the office of the State Superintendent.
Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), who did not vote on AB 181, told CBM her concerns extend beyond education policy to California’s constitutional system of checks and balances.
“This isn’t just about education. It’s about protecting California’s constitutional system of checks and balances,” McKinnor said.
She said transferring executive authority from an independently elected constitutional officer to a Governor-appointed official could set a precedent for other statewide offices, including the Secretary of State, Attorney General and Insurance Commissioner. “I don’t believe concentrating more power in any Governor’s office is good for California’s democracy,” she said.
The California Teachers Association opposed the legislation. They argued that transferring executive authority from the elected SSPI to a Governor-appointed Education Commissioner weakens public accountability and further centralizes authority within the executive branch.
Dr. Ramona Bishop, founder of ELITE Public Schools and former president of the California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators, said selecting California’s first Education Commissioner will matter more than the new governance structure itself.
“Has this person successfully closed achievement gaps… or is this somebody that just has the resume?” Bishop told CBM. “If it’s somebody that just has the resume, we might as well just leave it as it is.”
She said she hopes the Commissioner keeps the focus on improving student achievement by providing “more communication, maybe more professional development, maybe more presence regionally.”
The legislation now moves from policy to implementation. California voters will elect a new Governor and a new SSPI in November before the state’s new education leadership structure takes effect on Jan. 15, 2027.
