RE: Question 1: Who's in charge?-What's in the Plan

The Background for Question 1 today has three parts. The present situation is described, then the Recommendations in the Plan: first for the Governor (plus the State Board and Department of Education), then for the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The draft Master Plan states that California's state-level K-12 governance "has no clear lines of accountability due to multiple entities having overlapping responsibilities. Key players include: (1) the Governor, who appoints all members of the State Board of Education, promulgates an annual budget that sets forth priorities and nearly always is the final arbiter of differences of opinion about education policy due to his line-item veto authority; (2) the State Board of Education, which is by law the policy setting body for public schools but has very little staff of its own; (3) the Superintendent of Public Instruction, an elected constitutional officer who manages the Department of Education (CDE) staff, but has little policy-setting authority; and (4) the Secretary for Education, with a small complement of staff whose duties are largely duplicative of those in the Department of Education." Recommendations 31 and 32 address this situation.

The Governor. In brief, number 31 makes the Governor explicitly accountable for P-12 education, stating that "Authority over the operations of California's K-12 public education system at large, and ultimate responsibility for the delivery of education to California's K-12 public education students in particular, should both reside within the Office of the Governor" and detailing the functions involved. A cabinet-level Chief Education Officer appointed by the Governor would be the Director of the Department of Education. The Governor would continue to appoint the State Board of Education, whose members would represent geographical regions; their functions would be limited to state governance and policy matters. The separate executive director and staff of the State Board within the Department of Education would be eliminated. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction. Recommendation 32 covers this position. It would maintain the elected position, but assign new functions. The Superintendent would act as an Inspector General for public education, to hold the Governor and the system accountable for student achievement. This would include monitoring governance/policy instruments intended to ensure adequate and equitable provision of education, and implementation of state and federal programs.