With the two-year 2025–26 legislative session underway, it is a good time to assess the significant changes in the State Senate and State Assembly, which have undergone substantial turnover as a result of the 2024 elections. New appointments made by the respective leaders of the two legislative houses could also shape educational policy.

The 2024 General Election was a bellwether moment in California politics. It represented the end of the first class of legislators elected under the new term limits reform adopted by voters via Proposition 28 (2012). Prop 28 reformed term limits, permitting legislators to serve up to 12 years cumulatively, in either house of the State Legislature. Most legislators successfully re-elected to office serve the entirety of the 12 years in one house.

As a result, the Legislature is experiencing a substantial turnover due to the large number of legislators who either have termed out or who chose not to run for re-election. In just the last four years, the State Legislature has seen more than 60 percent turnover.

There has been a slight shake up in the partisan composition of the Legislature, with one seat flipping in each house from the Democratic to the Republican Party. However, this will have a near-negligent impact on the Democrat’s control of the Legislature, where the party still commands 75 percent of all seats, which surpasses the two-thirds majority vote requirement to overturn a gubernatorial veto. The remaining single open seats in the Senate and Assembly are both in safely Republican districts. If those seats remain Republican, which is expected, Democrats will hold 60 of the 80 seats in the Assembly and 30 of the 40 seats in the Senate.

With this continuing turnover, has come an increase in the number of legislators who have prior experience serving as elected school board members — from 16 to 20. Of this number, 17 represented school districts and three represented county offices of education. This includes the current President Pro-Tem of the Senate, Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), a former two-term school board member for the Healdsburg Unified School District in Sonoma County, and Assembly Education Committee Chair Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), who served two terms on the Torrance USD school board. It also includes:

• Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), a former Santa Monica-Malibu USD board member and past chair of the Senate Education Committee.
• Sen. Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara), a former Santa Barbara USD board member who previously served on CSBA’s Legislative Committee. She currently serves as the chair of the Senate Banking and Finance Committee.
• Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa-Bogh (R-Redlands), a former Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint USD board member and current vice chair of the Senate Education Committee.
• Assemblymember Darshana Patel (D-Poway), a former Poway USD board member, former CSBA Delegate and past chair of the San Diego County School Board Members Association.
• Assemblymember Joshua Hoover (R-Folsom), a former Folsom-Cordova USD board member and vice chair of the Assembly Education Committee.

In a surprise result on the Senate side, Sen. Joshua Newman (D-Fullerton), who served as chair of the Senate Education Committee, lost his seat to former Assemblymember Steven Choi (R-Irvine). As a result, recently elected Democratic Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez for the 25th Senate District, which includes Pasadena, Arcadia, Altadena, Glendora and Claremont, was appointed chair of the Senate Education Committee. Although she does not have a background in K-12 education, she previously worked for a nonprofit organization advocating for greater access and increased affordability to higher education, especially for disadvantaged and underrepresented communities.

On the budget side of the Legislature, the two committees responsible for education finance, the chairs of the Senate Budget Subcommittee #1 and Assembly Budget Subcommittee #3 remain steady — Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego), respectively. In welcome news, the Assembly has increased the size of Budget Subcommittee #3 from three members to six. As a result, Assemblymember Patel has been added to the committee, which already includes Assemblymember Muratsuchi. On the Senate side, Budget Subcommittee #1 remains at three members, which, in addition to Sen. Laird as chair, includes Sen. Ochoa-Bogh and Sen. Pérez.

Notably, this year’s Legislature is also the most diverse in state history. This includes, for the first time, women composing half of the state Legislature — 59 of the 120 total seats in the Senate and Assembly. Over one third of the Legislature (41) are Latino, 14 are Asian/ Pacific Islander and eight are African American. Additionally, 14 are part of the LGBTQ Caucus.

As the Legislature approaches its policy committee hearings beginning in March and budget committee hearings to review the Governor’s proposed budget, CSBA’s Governmental Relations team will continue to update members on policy and budget developments, as well as opportunities for continued advocacy.