The role and responsibilities of the state’s top elected education official will be changing as part of a dramatic overhaul of education governance in California.   The State Superintendent of Public Instruction will no longer oversee the California Department of...

Whoever California’s next governor is, he’s going to be more powerful than Gavin Newsom.  With one foot out the door, Newsom just convinced lawmakers to approve a radical bureaucratic reimagining that consolidates power in the governor’s office.   Starting in...

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 voters this year are set to decide who will serve as the state’s next superintendent of public instruction. But with campaign season already underway, the job the two contenders are running for is about to change drastically.  Starting next...

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...

The job of state superintendent is changing. NBC 7’s Shandel Menezes explains why both candidates vying for the seat are not happy about it.

A highly contentious move to revamp the California Department of Education has passed the state legislature, despite widespread opposition among education leaders across the state.  Assembly Bill 181 was crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature to shift...

Learning Lab Director Lark Park interviewed Dr. Michael W. Kirst in a wide ranging conversation–from how education policymaking has changed over the decades, to whether UC should bring back standardized testing, to why the professional development of teachers, the structure...

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...

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...

The next state superintendent of public instruction won’t be managing the California Department of Education anymore.  The department’s control will shift in January to a new director of education, who will report to the governor, under a deal announced Friday...

The fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to shift control of the California Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new education commissioner answering to future governors and the State Board of Education will become...

A new report from Penn GSE researchers explores one of the most pressing tensions in education policy today: how to ensure rigorous preparation for teachers while expanding access to the profession. 

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...

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...

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to shift control of the Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new education commissioner under future governors’ authority passed its first test in the Legislature last week — but probably...