Tony Thurmond is California’s 28th and current State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He has been a lifelong educator, public school parent, and public servant who has served the people of California for sixteen years in elected office. At every step, Tony has kept California's kids as his top priority. He knows how to get things done and get results.
Increased funding for early education programs.
Passed legislation to provide millions of dollars to school districts to keep kids in school and out of the criminal justice system.
Fought for money to make sure that all California youth in foster care have the opportunity to go to college.
This year Tony is fighting to provide more money for preschool and after school programs by shifting $450 million from our criminal justice system into our early education and after school programs.
Tony is working to expand school-based health, mental health, and social service programs to remove the barriers that impede the ability of many of our students to learn. This legislation will support students who are homeless or hungry or have experienced trauma.
This year Tony is reducing our statewide teacher shortage by advocating for housing for teachers and other incentives to attract and retain more great teachers.
As Superintendent, I will ensure the safety of our students is our number one priority. For too long, we have lived with the tragedies of school shootings in states across the nation. My heart breaks for the families who have been affected by these horrific events. We must do more than offer our thoughts and prayers. We must act to keep our children safe. We need violence prevention training in every school in California. The solution is not to arm teachers – in fact, we must vehemently resist efforts by the federal administration to place weapons in classrooms – but to invest in commonsense mental health services and gun violence prevention programs for our students and educators. I introduced legislation in the State Assembly that will provide resources to schools so they can provide physical, social, and emotional services through on-site counseling. In addition to legislation, I am meeting with district superintendents throughout California to discuss best practices to ensure schools safety, and I am collaborating with nonprofit organizations who are working to educate schools, families, and community organizations on life-saving gun violence prevention programs. I have convened roundtable discussions with local educators and social justice advocates to discuss ways in which our schools can prevent acts of hate on campuses. I am leading the discussion on gun violence prevention in this campaign because our students demand their elected leaders take action to save their lives. As Superintendent, I will: â— Provide schools with the resources to offer all students and teachers commonsense mental health services and gun violence prevention programs â— Resist efforts by the Trump Administration to bring guns into our schools â— Prioritize a curriculum that teaches tolerance and promotes diversity
California is the 6th largest economy in the world, yet we rank 46th in the nation in per-student funding. With the rising cost of special education, pension contributions, and other critical school district needs, we must act now to get our students, teachers, and districts the money they need to improve student outcomes. I have a plan to bring California to the top ten states in per-pupil funding by 2022, and to #1 in the nation by 2026. In the Assembly, I am constantly fighting to find additional revenue sources for our public education system. During my first 3 years in office, I secured an additional $500 million for early education
programs, and I introduced bills that would generate hundreds of millions of dollars for after-school programs, STEM education, and other essential programs. To give California’s kids a fair shot in the global economy, we must provide the resources that will set them up for success. A recent survey showed that nearly two-thirds of Californians believe funding for our state’s public schools is inadequate, and 59% reported they would support a local parcel tax to fund their district’s schools. To tap into this public support, we should change the voter threshold for passing these local parcel taxes from two-thirds majority to 55% in all districts. I fought for passage of Proposition 30 in 2012 and Proposition 55 in 2016, which significantly increased funding for our public schools. No other candidate has a record of success in Sacramento fighting for and delivering billions of dollars for public education. As Superintendent, I will: â— Bring California to the top ten states in per-pupil funding by 2022, and to #1 in the nation by 2026 â— Appoint a group of business, education, and government leaders to identify strategies for developing new permanent funding streams to improve education funding â— Work with state lawmakers to change the voter threshold for passing local parcel taxes from two-thirds majority to 55% in all districts
In addition to state and local funding mechanisms, I will prioritize urging the federal government to invest in California’s schools. States rely on federal funds to support essential resources like teacher training, special education, and after-school programs. In his 2018 budget proposal, President Trump proposed to completely eliminate 20 of these essential public school programs, yet he included $1.4 billion to fund public school alternatives like charter schools and private school vouchers. The budget is especially disastrous for California students, cutting $400 million from our state’s federal funds alone. This will hurt all our country’s children, and especially California’s most vulnerable students. I will not stand for it. I have not shied away from criticizing Donald Trump when he does not stand up for the values we hold most dear. In fact, I authored the resolution in the Assembly that made California the very first state to call upon Congress to censure the President following his reprehensible comments about the tragedies that took place in Charlottesville during a white supremacist rally
As Superintendent, I will: â— Continue to relentlessly fight the Trump Administration, doing everything in my power to keep him and Betsy DeVos from gutting California’s public schools â— Fight to keep public schools public by protecting California’s ban on school vouchers
With greater funding, there must also be greater transparency and accountability. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was created through landmark education funding legislation in 2013 that returned spending decisions to communities and makes sure that school districts with the greatest number of high-need students get more resources to support those students. We must have oversight of the LCFF to ensure funding is going where it is supposed to go – directly to students and the programs that benefit them – while streamlining the bureaucracy faced by school districts. LCFF funding data must be made available online so the public can see how their tax dollars are being spent. Publicly available, easily accessible data will help keep public officials accountable and allow school districts to learn best practices from high performing districts throughout the state. By providing necessary resources, we can empower County Offices of Education, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the California Department of Education to support districts in need of improvement. Data from the LCFF will also allow the public to hold school districts accountable for treating all students equally. And if a district is underserving a particular student group, this data will help inform the changes that need to be made to build equity in communities, as intended by the LCFF. We should also continue to empower students to hold their schools accountable. Last year Governor Jerry Brown signed into law my legislation, AB 261, which guarantees students in high school have a vote and a voice on their school district governing boards. As Superintendent, I will: â— Conduct a comprehensive review of the LCFF to ensure that funding is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible â— Ensure all LCFF funding data is available online so the public can see how their tax dollars are being spent, and provide schools and districts with clear, easy to use systems to provide data â— Continue my efforts to empower young people to have a voice in policies related to their public education
We have a crisis of accountability in California’s charter schools, with an estimated $149 million in charter school fraud reported in the state. As Superintendent, I will systematically eliminate bad actors who seek to profit off the education of California’s kids. This year I will co-author legislation that would make for-profit charter schools illegal, and I have supported legislation to increase the transparency and accountability for taxpayer-funded charter schools, holding them to the same standards as our traditional public school districts. And like public schools, I also support efforts to mandate that charter schools disclose if any board members have a financial stake in school spending. Additionally, I will require charter schools to be fully transparent about their enrollment policies. We must end the practice of charter schools keeping out English Learners and students with special needs. I am the only candidate for State Superintendent who is fully committed to reforming charter schools and ensuring they are held accountable. It is essential that all California schools follow the same standards of transparency and accountability when it comes to disclosing how public money is being spent. As Superintendent, I will: â— Make for-profit charter schools illegal â— Increase the transparency and accountability for taxpayer-funded charter schools, requiring public hearings and disclosures of conflicts of interest
California is widely recognized as the innovation capital of the world, yet fewer than half of K-12 schools in the state offer computer science courses. My top priority as Superintendent will be to modernize our curriculum so our schools are equipped to educate well-rounded students ready to compete in the global workforce. As Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Education, I authored legislation to expand courses in computer science and STEM education, particularly in low-income and rural school districts. My bill, AB 2186, proposes a $200 million STEM education grant program that will allow school districts to apply for funds that would go toward professional development for STEM educators, computer science education, and the development of public-private partnerships aimed at increasing STEM opportunities for students. I am proactively working to bring together tech companies and school districts across the state to build partnerships that will infuse technology into curriculum and create pathways to the internships and jobs of tomorrow. In addition to STEM, we must prioritize and invest in arts and civics education, enabling students to foster creativity and critical thinking skills. Research shows that including arts in our education curriculum improves student outcomes in many subjects. That’s why I worked to secure an additional $27 million in last year’s budget to fund the California Arts Council – a 130% increase since 2014. I am proud to be the only candidate for Superintendent who has committed to prioritizing increased funding for the arts and civics in our public schools. As Superintendent, I will: â— Secure additional funding for STEM education to ensure students in every school district have access to a 21st Century curriculum â— Prioritize funding for arts and civics education to ensure our students have a well-rounded curriculum that fosters critical thinking and creativity
In 2016, California voters passed Proposition 58, which made it easier for schools to provide bilingual education. I was proud to endorse Proposition 58, and I fully support this effort and plan to do all I can as Superintendent to ensure the policy is implemented effectively. More than 1 in 5 students in California public schools are English Learners and over 40% speak a language other than English at home. Last year I helped to secure an additional $5 million in the state’s budget to fund bilingual education programs. A 21st Century education must prepare students for a global future that requires global competency. To compete on this scale, we must provide opportunities for foreign language education, especially at an early age, when research shows most students are most capable of learning a new language. I have introduced AB 2514 which will provide grant funds to districts in support of the creation and expansion of dual language immersion programs, developmental programs for English Learners, and early learning dual language programs. I will continue to work to equip each school district with the resources they need to recruit and train language teachers who can guide our students into a globalized future. I will also aim to incorporate foreign language classes in the curriculum for elementary and middle schools so our younger students can get a head start on building this skill. As Superintendent, I will: â— Expand bilingual education for English Learners â— Invest in language immersion programs for students who want to learn new languages â— Recruit and retain high-quality language education teachers through hiring incentives and professional development opportunities