SACRAMENTO— On July 10, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill (AB) 181 into law. According to the Governor’s website, the much-needed restructuring of the school system has waited far too long. Educators have cried foul as AB 181 will remove the operational power from the State elected Superintendent of Schools and transfer those responsibilities to a new Governor-appointed position. The Education Commissioner is a new position created by Governor Newsom starting January 2027.
The person appointed to that position will report to the Governor.
The following statement came directly from Governor Newsom’s webpage.
“California can no longer afford to postpone reforms that have been recommended regularly for a century. For too long, our state’s education governance structure has divided responsibility for setting policy from responsibility for implementing it.
AB 181 creates a more effective system that will help us deliver better results for students while ensuring greater accountability for the investments Californians make in public education.”
The current Superintendents of schools are elected officials, elected by the people, for the people. The new commissioner will be appointed by the Governor, and report to the Governor. This “Structural Change,” could reportedly significantly alter school budgets.
Reports indicate that the structural change of Bill 181 is the creation of the Education Commissioner. Governor Newsom indicates that this expands the elected Superintendent’s authority across K-12, and higher education, but it does not. The decisions will no longer be made by the elected Superintendents, but by the Governor.
Governor Newsom is facing accusations of an unprecedented power grab that would strip the Superintendent of schools of their authority.
Social media has erupted with scrutiny for the Governor over his new bill.
“Our lovely Governor is taking steps to strip the Superintendent of California of nearly all power and passing it to the Teacher’s Union,” one commenter stated. “Why? Because the coming election has the front-runner for the job is a Republican who has stated she represents students and parents.”
He added that “I wish I was making this up, but I’m not.” And “Worst Governor of my lifetime.”
Some Californians publicly expressed warnings against Governor Newsom’s new bill, calling it an “Undemocratic power play, by Newsom to dissolve the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Governor Newsom has already signed the bill. California is shifting control of Department of Education from elected officials to the governor-appointed Education Commissioner.
