Newsom and California Democrats Scheme To Defang State Schools Chief, Anticipating Republican Win

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Democrats slipped a gut-and-amend bill into the budget to strip power from the elected State Schools Superintendent and instead create a new commissioner position for a Governor appointed politician, taking all power away from the voters. They know Sonja Shaw will win, and are preparing to circumvent it.

“Once again, Governor Newsom and the Democrat legislative supermajority have thumbed their noses at parents,” Lance Izumi, Senior Director of Education for the Pacific Research Institute, told the Globe. “Sonja Shaw, a school board president who galvanized grassroots parent support across California to finish first in the June primary for state superintendent of public instruction, threatens the leftist public education status quo. She came in ahead of the CTA-endorsed candidate and is poised to become the first Republican state superintendent since the 1960s. Newsom and the Democrats can’t let that happen so they steal the power of the state superintendent in order to give it to Xavier Becerra, their gubernatorial candidate who they believe will be elected in November. They are willing to torpedo democracy—the ability of people to put a parent champion like Sonja Shaw in charge of the California Department of Education—in order to preserve their oligarchic stranglehold on the state’s public schools. As usual, the real losers in their crass blatant power play will be California’s children.”

“The same progressive education oligarchy that has given California bottom-of-the-barrel student achievement will continue to rule for the benefit of the special interests and to the detriment of families,” Izumi added.

A new Education Commissioner, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, will handle executive and administrative functions, run the department, and report to the Governor and the State Board of Education, most of who are appointed by the Governor. The Superintendent’s role shifts toward policy advocacy, coordination across education levels, K-12 through higher ed, and independent evaluation, according to EdSource.

This is a clear case of changing the rules amid an election where a reform-minded outsider like Sonja Shaw has momentum. The November race will still matter for the advocacy role and any remaining powers, but day-to-day control of the department will shift to the appointee, because Democrats in control can never let anyone else win, ever. Not when they have a supermajority.

Sonja Shaw, candidate for Superintendent of Schools in the California Primary Election, won the top spot, against 9 other candidates. Shaw won 22.6% of the vote, and 1,737,360 votes.

Her response to Gov. Newsom’s and Democrats’ scheme:

“CA families said NO to failing schools and insider politics. So Sacramento’s answer? A gut-and-amend bill to strip power from the elected Superintendent and hand it to a Governor-appointed bureaucrat. They know change is coming, and they’re trying to stop voters before November.”

CA families said NO to failing schools and insider politics. So Sacramento’s answer? A gut-and-amend bill to strip power from the elected Superintendent and hand it to a Governor-appointed bureaucrat. They know change is coming, and they’re trying to stop voters before November.…

— Sonja Shaw (@realSonjaShaw) June 27, 2026

Monday, she acknowledged what all of us know:

“Newsom and Sacramento insiders know we’re going to win this election.”

Make no mistake: Newsom and Sacramento insiders know we're going to win this election.

They're looking to limit the Superintendent's office to protect the people who've caused this mess we're in.

They will not stop us from fixing California schools.

California Races To Neuter…

— Sonja Shaw (@realSonjaShaw) June 29, 2026

Lance Christensen who ran for Schools Superintendent in 2022, posted this to X:

“When the legislature wants to get stuff done, they can and do without the public knowing. It’s a feature to be admired by fascists, not a bug to be fixed by normal people.”

“The bill was amended Friday afternoon and will likely pass both committees without substantive public commentary.”

Read his entire thread on X:

I've been asked about AB 181 several times this weekend, a bill to strip the Superintendent of Public Instruction of his statutory authorities without eliminating the office in the CA state constitution. The #caleg gutted and amended one of the budget trailer spot bills on Friday…

— Lance Christensen (@lancelands) June 29, 2026

The elected Superintendent will no longer directly manage the California Department of Education. While we haven’t had a decent Schools Superintendent in many years, it’s largely because of Democrat control over the state. But this election is different – Republican Steve Hilton made it into the top two in the race for Governor, and Sonja Shaw did as well in her run for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Change is coming. And Governor Newsom and Democrats in control just can’t have that.