California Students Deserve Accountability – Not Excuses

As State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond prepares to conclude his tenure, California parents, educators and taxpayers have every right to ask a simple question: Did our state’s public education system become more accountable, transparent and focused on student outcomes during his time in office?

Unfortunately, too often, the answer appears to be no.

California’s public schools educate millions of children and receive billions of dollars in taxpayer funding. Parents should not have to fight for basic transparency, safe campuses or meaningful academic accountability. Yet families continue to confront troubling deficiencies in school districts—including declining academic performance, chronic absenteeism, school safety concerns and financial controversies that have lingered for years.

The role of state education leadership is not simply to celebrate progress. It is to ask difficult questions when schools or districts fall short. That means demanding transparency when taxpayer dollars are spent, insisting on meaningful intervention when students are not learning, and making student safety a non-negotiable priority.

The most telling indictment of Thurmond’s tenure may be what happened under his watch: Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature concluded that California’s education governance structure needed to be fundamentally changed. As part of the 2026 budget agreement, California approved a historic restructuring that will transfer management of the California Department of Education from the State Superintendent to a new Education Commissioner beginning in 2027. The reform was designed to create clearer lines of authority, better align policy and implementation, and strengthen accountability for results.

That decision should not be dismissed simply as a government reorganization. It raises legitimate questions about Thurmond’s leadership and the performance and priorities of the staff surrounding him. Rather than consistently keeping CDE focused on its core responsibilities—supporting schools, improving academic outcomes, addressing safety concerns and holding struggling districts accountable – too much of Thurmond’s tenure has appeared consumed by political disputes, public messaging and initiatives that have created additional friction for schools trying to educate children successfully. If the state’s top education office is spending more energy generating headlines and obstacles than solving problems facing classrooms, districts and families, that is a leadership failure—not merely a governance technicality.

The need for reform was not invented by critics of Thurmond. The Legislature’s own independent analyst found that California’s existing structure could prevent the state from aligning education policy and administration, create confusion about state goals and make it difficult for the public to determine who is responsible when outcomes are poor. Those are precisely the kinds of accountability failures Thurmond’s leadership should have been working to resolve.

Thurmond’s tenure has too often reflected an approach reluctant to confront entrenched problems within California’s public education establishment. Accountability cannot depend on which school system is being discussed, who runs it or whether raising concerns is politically convenient.

Every public school should play by the same rules. Every student deserves the same commitment to safety and academic excellence. And every taxpayer deserves to know whether the system is delivering on its promises.

This is not an argument against public education. Quite the opposite. It is an argument for strengthening public education by insisting that every school—district, charter or otherwise—be held to clear and consistent standards.

California should not accept a system where families must become activists, attorneys or whistleblowers simply to get answers about their children’s education. Parents deserve timely information. Students deserve safe and productive learning environments. Teachers deserve the resources and leadership necessary to succeed. Taxpayers deserve accountability for the enormous public investment in education.

As Thurmond’s tenure comes to an end, his legacy should be measured not by speeches, initiatives or political headlines, but by whether California confronted its most persistent educational challenges.

The next chapter must be different.

California needs education leadership willing to shine a light on failure as readily as it celebrates success. Fairness, transparency and accountability must apply to every public school and every school district.

Our children cannot afford anything less.