Tony Thurmond

February 28, 2023

Proposed constitutional amendment would make state superintendent of public instruction an appointed position

A proposed constitutional amendment could make the superintendent of public instruction an appointed position, instead of an elected one.

November 16, 2022

Voters reelected Tony Thurmond; now he needs to keep his promises on literacy

California needs to be screening all K-2 students for dyslexia and should also mandate that districts use literacy curriculum based on the science of reading.

November 8, 2022

Tony Thurmond cruises to reelection as California state superintendent

Thurmond, running for a second term, easily defeated Lance Christensen, a conservative education policy advocate and supporter of a private school choice initiative.

October 19, 2022

School choice advocate, CTA opponent Lance Christensen would be a very different state superintendent

Christensen faces long odds to defeat much better financed incumbent Tony Thurmond, but he assumes parents frustrated by pandemic school closures will vote for change.

September 27, 2022

California reverses course, will release Smarter Balanced test scores next month, official says

State test results that will reveal how students fared through the pandemic will be released in October, a state official now says. This is a reversal of of the state's position just last week in which it refused an EdSource public records request to release the data.

Thomas Peele

Testing and Accountability

September 22, 2022

State delays public release of English, math and science test score results to later this year

Delaying the public release of Smarter Balanced tests taken last spring undermines the urgency of addressing setbacks in learning during the pandemic.

John Fensterwald And Thomas Peele

California's Reading Dilemma

September 1, 2022

State Supt. Thurmond to restart literacy task force, aims for 'comprehensive' approach

Announcement at a press conference accompanies the release of a free, engaging dual-language resource for families in California.

John Fensterwald

Bilingual Education

August 22, 2022

Frustration after bilingual education bill dies in State Assembly

The bill would have established a program to offer grants of up to $750,000 to expand or establish dual-language immersion programs.

Zaidee Stavely

Student Health

June 14, 2022

Bill would give $25,000 to aspiring school counselors, social workers

The goal is to increase diversity among mental health professionals and add counselors to underserved areas, supporters say

Carolyn Jones

Elections and Education

June 8, 2022

State Supt. Tony Thurmond likely to face runoff election in November

Thurmond so far is falling short of 50% needed to avoid a runoff election. It's too close to identify which of three opponents he will face.

John Fensterwald

Commentary

April 22, 2022

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond on path to reelection

After two contentious and expensive elections in 2014 and 2018, this year's race for California state superintendent of public instruction seems to be generating far less interest.

Louis Freedberg

Coping With Covid

January 7, 2022

High Covid rates, staff shortages and confusing legislation challenge schools' reopenings

School officials are struggling to keep schools open amid Covid outbreaks and staffing shortages. Conflicting messages from California state officials are making it even more difficult.