It\u2019s not often you see over 900 diverse organizations across California all agree on something. But when a problem affecting our kids\u2019 education has existed for over a century with little progress towards fixing it, it brings people together to finally demand a solution.<\/p>\n
In 1919, the California Special Committee on Education identified that our education governance system was in desperate need of reform. For 106 years, that fragmented and inefficient system has remained unchanged, hindered our students\u2019 ability to succeed, and helped lead California to have some of the largest achievement gaps and lowest student performance of any state in the country.<\/p>\n
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CommentaryAnswer key questions before changing leadership of California\u2019s Department of Education<\/a><\/p>\n May 4, 2026<\/p>\n Now in 2026, thanks to overwhelming support and the governor\u2019s leadership, we finally have a chance to reform California\u2019s education governance system to better address our students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n More than 950 organizations across California<\/a> have signed on in support of education governance reform, demanding that the California Department of Education be aligned under a more logical leadership structure to provide clearer guidance for schools and hold state leaders accountable for delivering results. The campaign, coordinated by Children Now through the Children\u2019s Movement of California<\/a>, features a vast collection of supporters across parent, student, civil rights, business, faith, and community groups. They come from 48 of the state\u2019s 58 counties, from Modoc and Trinity in the far north to Imperial in the far south. They range in diversity from the California School Boards Association, to the American Academy of Pediatrics, to Boys and Girls Clubs all across the state.<\/p>\n Within that broad and diverse support (which also includes a coalition of 27 education equity groups), what\u2019s clear is that the people who work the closest with the Department of Education are all in favor of this reform. That includes the Association of California School Administrators, the California County Superintendents, and the California Association of School Business Officials \u2014 all of whom represent school leaders throughout the state who rely on the Department every day for support.<\/p>\n Failing to properly support our kids\u2019 education affects all of us, no matter what business, industry, or community you\u2019re in. To make a new set of needed improvements, we must start with a sensible governance system people can easily understand.<\/p>\n Failing to properly support our kids\u2019 education affects all of us, no matter what business, industry, or community you\u2019re in. <\/p>\n Fortunately, Gov. Gavin Newsom has come forward with a proposal<\/a> to do just that, one that is more straightforward and effective than misguided attempts in the past. <\/p>\n It aligns the state Department of Education under the state Board of Education, with a gubernatorially appointed Education Commissioner responsible for day-to-day management. <\/p>\n The elected Superintendent of Public Instruction remains a critical, independent spokesperson for education. <\/p>\n The State Board retains its role of setting standards. <\/p>\n The governor and Legislature keep their budgetary and policy function. Local districts keep running their schools. <\/p>\n What changes is accountability for effective implementation. The governor is the top leader of the state, so it\u2019s the governor who should be accountable for an issue as critical as our kids\u2019 education, as they are in other states with stronger student performance. This change will help immensely in providing clearer guidance to schools and improving academic outcomes that work to close our achievement gaps.<\/p>\n This reformed system already exists in most states across the country with significantly stronger results. From 2003\u20132024<\/a>, states where the governor appointed the chief education official ranked in the top half of the country on demographically adjusted national test scores 71 percent of the time. <\/p>\n In contrast, California\u2019s system has led to relatively poor student performance \u2014 just 46% of California 4th graders are proficient in English, while just 42% are proficient in math, according to Children Now\u2019s 2026 California Children\u2019s Report Card<\/a>. The Getting Down to Facts III<\/a> report released this month also confirmed the need for education governance reform as a pre-requisite to the other major reforms needed to improve student performance.<\/p>\n We cannot wait any longer to address a core reason for our state\u2019s education failures. Will adopting the governor\u2019s proposal miraculously change student outcomes and solve all our issues? Of course not. But governance is foundational to improving our student achievement. It is critical that our education system has clear accountability for delivering support to students and getting results. With nearly 1000 organizations across California in agreement, now is the time to make California\u2019s education system work better for our kids.<\/p>\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n Ted Lempert is a former state legislator and the President of Children Now<\/a>, a whole child research and advocacy organization that coordinates The Children\u2019s Movement of California.<\/p>\n The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. <\/p>\n Related Reading<\/p>\n Assembly leaders redefine state superintendent\u2019s role, demand more oversight\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n April 29, 2026<\/p>\n Legislative Analyst sees merit in Gov. Newsom\u2019s plan for realigning California\u2019s school bureaucracy<\/a><\/p>\n March 21, 2026<\/p>\n California school boards fault state government\u2019s failure to narrow the achievement gap<\/a><\/p>\n March 18, 2026<\/p>\n EdSource is dedicated to covering in California and nationally. Other publications may republish EdSource articles, online or in print, at no charge, provided adherence to our guidelines. The embed code provided here includes a tracking pixel to enable us to measure the reach of our stories. It must be included in any online pickup of EdSource stories.<\/p>\n The following guidelines apply to all EdSource content, including stories, podcasts and video:<\/p>\n