AB 2117 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

State Board of Education: Superintendent of Public Instruction: Education Commissioner.

Summary

(1) Existing law establishes the State Board of Education to adopt policies, and to establish rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the laws of the state, to govern the public elementary and secondary schools of the state. Existing law provides that the state board consists of 11 members, including 10 members who are appointed by the Governor to 4-year terms with the advice and consent of 23 of the Senate and a student member appointed by the Governor to a one-year term with the advice and consent of 23 of the Senate. This bill, commencing January 15, 2027, would add the Superintendent of Public Instruction to the state board by replacing one of the nonstudent positions that expires on January 15, 2027, with the Superintendent, thereby maintaining the state board's 11-member composition. The bill also would, commencing January 15, 2027, replace 4 of the existing positions that are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of 23 of the Senate with 2 members who are appointed by the President pro Tempore of the Senate and 2 members who are appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, as provided. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to be administered through the state board, which is the governing and policy determining body of the department, and the Director of Education, in whom all executive and administrative functions of the department are vested and who is the executive officer of the state board and the department. Existing law provides that the Superintendent is the ex officio Director of Education, and requires the department to be conducted under the control of the Director of Education. Existing law assigns to the Superintendent numerous duties related to the state board and the department. This bill would revise and recast those provisions by, among other things, (A) deleting the provision in existing law that establishes the Superintendent as the ex officio Director of Education, (B) vesting all executive and administrative functions of the department in an Education Commissioner to be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Governor and confirmed by the Senate after January 1, 2027, (C) transferring various duties of the Superintendent and the Director of Education relating to, among other things, the state board and the department, to the Education Commissioner, and (D) providing for the transfer, as specified, of certain employees (i) of the state board to the department, (ii) of the Superintendent to the department, and (iii) of the department to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, which the bill would establish, as specified. The bill would delay to July 1, 2027, the operative date of some of these provisions. This bill would require the Education Commissioner to create a plan no later than June 30, 2027, to transition the functions and operations of the department and other related activities from the Superintendent to the Education Commissioner, as provided. The bill would require the Superintendent to serve as an independent evaluator and cross-sector coordinator for public education, covering preschool through higher education, with specified duties. The bill would require the Superintendent to conduct independent evaluations of specified education initiatives and authorize the Superintendent to conduct independent evaluations of other education initiatives. This bill would prohibit the Superintendent and the Education Commissioner from holding positions of outside employment and would require all philanthropic foundations of the department to be dissolved no later than June 30, 2028. (3) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The board of governors consists of 18 voting members, as provided. This bill, commencing July 1, 2027, would add the Superintendent to the board of governors as a 19th voting member.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Jun 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 18, 2026 Last action Jun 29, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/28/26 - Amended Assembly → AB2117 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The April 28, 2026 amendment to AB 2117 pushed back several key transition dates by approximately five to six months, moving employee transfer deadlines and inoperative dates from January 1 or January 15, 2027 to June 30 or July 1, 2027. This gives the Education Commissioner more time to complete the restructuring of California's education governance before employees are formally transferred between the state board, the department, and the new Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The bill heading was also corrected to properly list all sections being added to the Education Code.

Scope change

The overall scope of the bill is unchanged - it still restructures California education governance by adding the Superintendent to the State Board, creating an Education Commissioner position, and establishing the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. However, the effective timeline for several operational transitions was extended by roughly five months, giving more time for the administrative restructuring to be completed.

TIMELINE

In Section 33043(a)(3), the date on which the Governor's authority to appoint six deputies to the executive director becomes inoperative changed from January 15, 2027 to July 1, 2027.

In Section 33043(b), the deadline by which deputies must have been appointed before being transferred to the department and reporting to the Education Commissioner changed from December 31, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

In Section 33043(c), the reference date for determining which state board employees are subject to transfer to the department changed from January 1, 2027 to June 30, 2027.

In Section 33107(a)(3), the date on which the Governor's authority to appoint five deputy superintendents and five associate superintendents becomes inoperative changed from January 15, 2027 to July 1, 2027.

In Section 33107(b), the deadline by which deputies appointed under that section must have been appointed before being transferred to the department changed from December 31, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

TECHNICAL

The bill heading was corrected to properly enumerate all sections being added to the Education Code (Sections 33101, 33103, 33112.1, 33112.2, 33144, 33319.7, 33319.8, 33319.9, and 33319.95) rather than listing only Section 33101.

03/18/26 - Amended Assembly → 04/28/26 - Amended Assembly · 10 edits · Apr 28, 2026

MAJOR

AB 2117 was substantially revised to restructure California's education governance by splitting State Board of Education appointments among the Governor, Senate President pro Tempore, and Assembly Speaker (rather than all going to the Governor), adding a Senate confirmation requirement for the Education Commissioner, establishing new independent evaluation duties for the Superintendent with specific dollar thresholds, and pushing several transition dates from January 2027 to July 2027. The bill also adds prohibitions on outside employment for the Superintendent and Education Commissioner and requires dissolution of department philanthropic foundations by June 30, 2028.

SCOPE

State Board of Education appointments after January 15, 2027 are now split: 5 members appointed by the Governor with Senate confirmation, 2 by the President pro Tempore of the Senate, and 2 by the Speaker of the Assembly. Previously all 9 non-Superintendent positions were to be filled by the Governor.

The bill's scope expanded to add new sections 33103, 33112.1, 33112.2, 33144, 33319.7, 33319.8, 33319.9, and 33319.95, beyond the previously listed Section 33101.

Assembly Member Patel was added as a co-author alongside Assembly Member Alvarez.

REQUIREMENT

A new rotation schedule (Section 33001(d)) specifies which appointing authority fills board seats in each year from 2027 through 2030, then repeats: 2027 gets one Senate Pro Tem and one Speaker appointment; 2028 gets three Governor appointments; 2029 gets one Senate Pro Tem and one Speaker; 2030 gets two Governor appointments.

New Section 33103 establishes the Superintendent as an independent evaluator and cross-sector coordinator for public education from preschool through higher education, with mandatory independent evaluations of any new education initiative with an ongoing annual appropriation exceeding $500 million or a one-time appropriation exceeding $1 billion. The Superintendent may also contract with research organizations to conduct these evaluations.

The Superintendent and Education Commissioner are prohibited from holding positions of outside employment. All philanthropic foundations of the department must be dissolved no later than June 30, 2028.

ELIGIBILITY

The Education Commissioner now requires Senate confirmation after January 1, 2027, in addition to being appointed by the Governor. Previously the bill only stated appointment by the Governor at the Governor's pleasure.

TIMELINE

Multiple transition dates were pushed back: the Office of the Superintendent becomes operative July 1, 2027 (previously no specific date); deputy and employee transfers from the State Board to the department are now keyed to June 30, 2027 instead of December 31, 2026 or January 1, 2027; and the Superintendent's seat on the Community College Board of Governors commences July 1, 2027.

The Education Commissioner must create a transition plan by June 30, 2027 to move functions and operations from the Superintendent to the Education Commissioner.

TECHNICAL

Sections 33004 and 33005 (Superintendent as secretary/executive officer of the State Board) are no longer outright repealed but instead become inoperative on January 15, 2027 and are repealed as of January 1, 2028, creating a one-year transition period.

02/18/26 - Introduced → 03/18/26 - Amended Assembly · 10 edits · Mar 18, 2026

MAJOR

AB 2117 was substantially expanded from a narrow bill renaming the Superintendent's role to 'Secretary of Education' into a comprehensive restructuring of California's K-12 education governance. The amended version creates a new Education Commissioner (a Governor-appointed cabinet-level official) who takes over all executive and administrative functions of the State Department of Education, adds the elected Superintendent as a voting member of both the State Board of Education and the Community College Board of Governors, establishes a formal Office of the Superintendent with defined staffing, and transfers employees between these entities. The bill cites over a century of criticism of California's 'double-headed' governance structure as justification.

SCOPE

The bill now amends approximately 40 sections of the Education Code instead of just three, adds new sections (33101), repeals existing sections (33004, 33005, 33110), and reorganizes code chapters and articles.

Starting January 15, 2027, the Superintendent of Public Instruction becomes a voting member of the State Board of Education, replacing one nonstudent seat expiring that date. The board maintains its 11-member composition (9 Governor-appointed + 1 student + 1 Superintendent).

The Superintendent is added as a 19th voting member to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, giving K-12 leadership a seat in postsecondary governance.

Extensive legislative findings are added citing historical criticism of California's education governance from 1919 through December 2025, including a 1963 Attorney General opinion and a 2002 Joint Committee recommendation to assign department management to a cabinet-level appointee.

DEFINITION

Creates a new Education Commissioner position who is appointed by the Governor and serves at the Governor's pleasure. All executive and administrative functions of the State Department of Education are vested in this person, replacing the Superintendent as ex officio Director of Education.

REQUIREMENT

New Section 33101 establishes the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction with specific staffing: the Superintendent, one deputy and three associate superintendents appointed by the state board, one additional deputy and one employee selected by the Superintendent under constitutional authority, plus clerical and expert assistants. The Superintendent may transfer up to five department employees to this office.

Employee transfers are specified: state board employees engaged in functions transferred to the Education Commissioner move to the department; Superintendent's deputies appointed before December 31, 2026 transfer to the department and report to the Education Commissioner; certain department employees transfer to the Office of the Superintendent.

Section 33004 is repealed, which had made the Superintendent the secretary and executive officer of the State Board of Education. Section 33005 (acting secretary provision) and Section 33110 (Superintendent's authority to employ a deputy) are also repealed.

TECHNICAL

The introduced version used the title 'Secretary of Education' for the new role; the amended version uses 'Education Commissioner' throughout, which is a more traditional California cabinet-level title.

TIMELINE

Key transition date is January 15, 2027, when the Superintendent joins the State Board of Education and certain exempt deputy positions become inoperative. A transitional period through December 31, 2026 allows for employee transfers before the new structure takes full effect.

Floor votes · Assembly May 11, 2026

How they voted

44–4

Passed · 31 other

Total votes 79

May 11, 2026

D Democratic59

34 Yea 1 Nay 24

57% Yea

R Republican20

10 Yea 3 Nay 7

50% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

upper

May 27, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on ED.

upper

May 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 45. Noes 4. Page 5004.)

lower

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 6).

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 27, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 22).

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on ED.

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ED. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on ED.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 21.

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor