Seen as a needed effort to provide increased accountability and greater leadership of the CDE, many groups expressed their support for the proposal, including civil rights and education management groups. In its support for the proposal, CSBA stated that it viewed it “as an important first step away from a patchwork of disconnected programs and toward a unified strategy of support that helps local educational agencies accelerate overall student performance and close persistent achievement gaps. The proposal’s creation of an education commissioner appointed by the governor to manage the CDE is welcomed and provides the administration with an opportunity to ensure operational continuity and efficiency, provided the commissioner possesses extensive experience managing large organizations and working in school districts and county offices of education.”
Recognizing that greater review and opportunity for public input was needed, the Legislature introduced a measure to both implement the Governor’s proposal and provide an opportunity for changes. Chief among the Legislature’s approach was an effort to add more influence as to who can appoint members to the SBE and to require a more holistic review of the governance structure of the CDE.
CSBA also saw an opportunity to address further changes to strengthen the proposal. This included establishing minimum qualifications for the education commissioner and ensuring that some checks and balances are retained.
To that end, CSBA was successful in getting amendments to the bill to require:
- The education commissioner appointed by the governor will be confirmed by the State Senate
- The education commissioner will have demonstrable experience running a large public or private organization and experience in public education leadership or its equivalent
After weeks of negotiations, final legislation was agreed to between the Governor, Legislature and stakeholders that resulted in AB 181. AB 181 does the following:
- Transfers the day-to-day administration of the CDE from the statewide elected SSPI to a newly established education commissioner
- Requires the governor to consider candidates for appointment as education commissioner to have demonstrable experience managing a large organization and in public education leadership and to be confirmed by the State Senate
- Requires the education commissioner to conduct a “second phase” of evaluation of state education programs and programs existing outside of the CDE that could be brought back under the administration of the department
- Recasts the SSPI as more of a figurehead and spokesperson for California’s TK-12 public education system and authorizes it with a more evaluatory role in public education
- Adds the SSPI as a voting member of the SBE by removing a position appointed by the Governor, and adds the SSPI as a voting member of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, increasing its size from 18 to 19 members
- Adds two members to the State Board to be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the Assembly, increasing the SBE from 11 to 13 members.
CSBA supported AB 181 because it is a step toward strengthening support for school districts and county offices of education by creating better alignment at the state level and less fragmented oversight of the CDE, helping to ensure that it is positioned to help LEAs improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps.
Importantly, CSBA also sees AB 181’s approach as working hand-in-hand with its legislative effort to create greater coordination and coherence between the many state entities that oversee public education in California. This includes its four-bill legislative package — AB 2225 (Patel), AB 2514 (Ransom), AB 2149 (Garcia) and AB 2202 (Muratsuchi) — known collectively as the SOS for Student Achievement: Close the State Accountability Gap legislation.
Together they extend the guiding principles of AB 181 and align with the vision to create greater alignment and improved efficiency among the many state entities that play a role in California’s public education system. This will create a state that is better situated to support and assist LEAs in improving student outcomes and closing achievement gaps.