Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that will vastly reshape the role of the state superintendent of public instruction, an elected position that currently oversees the California Department of Education.  Instead of leading the department, the new position will...

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced he has signed legislation to implement long-standing recommendations to strengthen California’s education governance system to better support its nearly 10,000 schools and approximately six million students. The legislation — Assembly Bill 181 by...

California lawmakers secured billions of dollars for public schools, community colleges, special education students and more in the 2026-2027 state budget.  In all, the budget included $128 billion of the $350 billion budget package for a myriad of education priorities...

California’s audacious goal of having half of all K-12 students enrolled in bilingual education programs by 2030 has encountered one big stumbling block — there aren’t enough qualified bilingual teachers.  To help remedy that, a $10 million grant tucked in...

California’s Department of Education will soon be under the control of the governor’s office, drastically changing the role of the next state superintendent, who will be elected in November.  The change, pushed through by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of...

After decades of steady growth, the country’s K-12 public school enrollment is in sustained decline. Federal projections indicate that 40 states will experience further losses through 2030-31, driven primarily by falling birth rates, with other contributing factors including slowing immigration...

One of the offices on the November ballot is California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. That elected official has led the state’s Department of Education and made sure policies passed by lawmakers are implemented.  Next year, that will change.  Under an...

The just-approved state budget strips authority from the elected state superintendent of public instruction, transferring power in January to an appointee of the governor, dramatically changing the oversight and management of a public school system serving more than 6 million...

Legislation for the big shift — moving the California Department of Education from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s control to a new chief executive of education under the governor — passed the Legislature Monday, though barely.  With 15 lawmakers...

A new California law creates an appointed education commissioner, shifting many powers from the elected state superintendent.

In his eighth and final budget, the tax gods continued to smile upon Gov. Gavin Newsom, enabling him to cement funding for signature programs he started while salving grumbling districts that are wincing over the financial impacts of declining enrollment...

Reclassification of students designated as English learners (ELs) is a critical process governed by state policies that mandate using multiple criteria to ensure fairness and accuracy. However, while these policies aim to create equitable pathways for reclassification, discrepancies in local...

California ranks 33rd in the nation in the well-being of its children and 34th in education, according to an annual report on children’s welfare released Monday. It marked the 15th straight year that California ranked in the bottom third of...

School closures—commonly touted as a financially responsible strategy to right-size cash-strapped districts—often do not improve districts’ financial standing, according to a new study out of California.  Even worse: Any money actually saved from closing a school building is largely offset...

Using the latest data from the California Department of Education, a fact sheet recently released by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) examines trends in chronic absenteeism statewide through the 2024–25 school year.  According to researchers, while rates of chronic...

Nearly five years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 20% of students are still chronically absent, meaning they miss 10% or nearly a month of school. Data from 31 states for the 2024-25 school year show that...

For Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) Professor Susanna Loeb, the work of bringing an incoming governor up to speed on the state’s education system begins with a listening tour.  “There are a billion different things you could look at...

Stanford University on Thursday released a sweeping research project that takes a 360-degree, immersive look at all aspects and operations of public education in California, from preschool through high school, from special education to teacher certification, enrollment decline to high...

California K-12 schools have come a long way over the past 20 years, but according to an exhaustive overview of the state’s school system, further progress may require tinkering with a long-entrenched form of school governance: local control.  That’s among...

More than 30 percent of California’s approximately 30,000 school-aged youth in foster care regularly experience some of the highest rates of chronic absence and exclusionary discipline.  A new brief from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) details how changes in...

A bill moving through the state legislature would require independent evaluations of any new education initiative that costs at least $500 million a year or $1 billion in one-time spending.  The proposed requirement is part of a larger bill that...

Education is not a central issue in California’s crowded governor’s race, but the candidates addressing it offer sharply different visions, from expanding school funding and free college, to stricter teacher accountability and restrictions on transgender students in sports. Lupita Cortez...