Report Urges Direct Intervention Powers for New K-12 Commissioner

Structural reform under Assembly Bill 181 will only improve student achievement if California’s new governor-appointed education commissioner simplifies school goals, cuts bureaucratic paperwork, and exercises direct authority to intervene in persistently low-performing schools, according to a report published through the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence by researchers Heather Hough and Jason Willis and covered by The Almanac.

Passed overwhelmingly in July after being proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, AB 181 requires the next governor—who takes office Jan. 4—to appoint an education commissioner to lead the California Department of Education and submit a draft governance plan to the Legislature by early June.

Direct State Intervention for Persistently Low-Scoring Schools

Hough told CalMatters that when a school district has persistently low standardized test scores, the state education commissioner should step in directly by bringing in experts, tutors, and resources, removing bureaucratic barriers, or—if all else fails—taking drastic action such as replacing a district superintendent.

So far, gubernatorial candidates have offered limited detail on how they will use the role: former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a recent televised debate that schools face too much bureaucracy and should hold back failing students, while Steve Hilton’s platform backs education savings accounts for private schooling.

Trimming 100-to-800-Page Triennial District Reports

County superintendents also emphasized the need to streamline state compliance mandates. Humboldt County Superintendent Michael Davies-Hughes, incoming head of California County Superintendents, noted that three-year state financial and goal reports routinely top 100 pages for small districts and nearly 800 pages for Los Angeles Unified. El Dorado County Superintendent Ed Manansala called the commissioner’s appointment “an extraordinary opportunity to rethink how the whole system works.”