Gavin Newsom passes ‘biggest power grab in California history’ over State Superintendent role

Republican candidate for California State Superintendent Sonja Shaw has accused Gavin Newsom of orchestrating a sweeping power grab and leaving the office she wants to run powerless.

“Newsom couldn’t win at the ballot box, so he changed the rules. He just rammed through one of the biggest power grabs in California history,” Shaw told the California Post. “This isn’t education reform. California’s children deserve leaders who answer to the voters.”

She led the June primary with 1,737,377 votes (22.6%), finishing ahead of Richard Barrera, who received 1,557,939 votes (20.3%), according to the Associated Press. The two will advance to a runoff election in November after no candidate secured a majority in the crowded field.

Shaw was referring to Assembly Bill 181 (AB 181), an education budget trailer bill signed by Newsom last week.

The measure was fast-tracked alongside California’s 2026-27 state budget, allowing it to move through the Legislature as part of the budget process rather than the traditional committee hearing process used for most standalone bills.

The legislation has drawn criticism from opponents who argue it fundamentally restructures California’s education system by transferring powers previously exercised by the independently elected Superintendent of Public Instruction to a governor-appointed official.

“Newsom slipped this into the budget process and rushed it through Sacramento before the public could fully scrutinize it. That should alarm every Californian, regardless of political party,” Shaw told the Post. “We will remember those that voted against protecting our children once again.”

AB 181 removes much of the Superintendent’s executive authority over California’s public education system.

Previously, the Superintendent oversaw the California Department of Education, managing thousands of employees while administering state grants, contracts and education programs.

Under the new law, those operational responsibilities shift to a governor-appointed executive, while the elected Superintendent retains constitutional duties but largely serves in an advisory and oversight role.

Because the office of Superintendent is established in California’s Constitution, it cannot be eliminated without voter approval through a constitutional amendment.

Instead, critics argue the law leaves the elected official with significantly diminished authority while executive control over California’s education system shifts to the governor’s administration.

Matt Klink, a Sacramento-based political strategist, said the timing of the change is tough to ignore.

“Coming just months before the November runoff, and weeks after Sonja Shaw finished first in the primary, the timing is impossible to ignore. Some Democrats will call it governance reform,” he told the Post. “Politically it looks like Sacramento saw the possibility of a Republican parent-rights candidate winning statewide office and moved to make the office significantly less powerful before voters could decide.”

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“This is a major political move by Gov. Newsom because it changes the practical meaning of an elected office voters are about to fill. The State Superintendent would still be elected, but the real management authority over the California Department of Education would shift to a governor-appointed director,” he added.

Shaw said voters had chosen “an independent watchdog, not another political puppet controlled by the Governor.”

She also argued Newsom’s administration is responding to mounting frustration among parents over California’s education system.

Citing statewide academic performance, Shaw said lawmakers should be focused on improving student outcomes rather than restructuring state government.

“At a time when fewer than half of California’s K-12 students are reading and writing at grade level, Sacramento’s priority is protecting political control instead of fixing broken schools,” she said.

She also criticized lawmakers who backed the measure, arguing, “The Legislature should have rejected this blatant attack on our Constitution and our democracy.”

The school board president, who launched her campaign for Superintendent in early 2025, said voters increasingly want transparency, accountability and what she described as “common-sense education.”

“I’ve faced lawsuits, political attacks, and relentless efforts to stop me from speaking out. But I’ve never backed down, and I’ve never given in,” she said.

She vowed to continue challenging Newsom’s education agenda both on the campaign trail and, if elected, from the office itself.

“I’ve stood up to Gavin Newsom in court, and I’ll stand up to him at the ballot box,” Shaw said. “This Mama Bear isn’t walking away from this fight. I’m fighting for parents, for teachers, and most importantly, for our kids.”

This is not the first time Sonja Shaw has locked horns with Governor Newsom and state leadership, as she has maintained a long-standing, public battle with Sacramento over local control and school board policies.

“She has already clashed with Gavin Newsom, Rob Bonta and the Democratic education establishment over Chino Valley’s parental notification policy and AB 1955. So when she says Sacramento is trying to stop her, that argument will resonate with her supporters,” Klink said, referring to the state’s efforts to block school districts from requiring teachers to disclose a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity to parents, which opponents characterized as a ban on “forced outing” policies.

“The bigger issue is democratic accountability: California voters are being asked to elect a superintendent in November, while Sacramento is rewriting the job description in July,” he added.

Supporters of AB 181 have argued the changes modernize California’s education governance by separating policymaking from day-to-day administrative management and creating clearer executive accountability within the Department of Education.

The governor insisted the move was intended to modernize California’s education system.

“California can no longer postpone reforms that have been recommended regularly for a century. So we are going to modernize the governance system by unifying the policymaking State Board with the Department of Education that implements those policies,” he said when announcing the proposal.

When asked about Shaw’s accusations, the governor’s office pointed to those remarks and defended the proposal.

“And we’re empowering the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to help align our education policies from early childhood through college. These critical reforms will bring greater accountability, clarity, and coherence to how we serve our students and schools,” he said.

The office said the bill was subject to multiple rounds of hearings and had the support of more than 950 organizations.

“Subsequently, before being adopted by the Assembly and Senate earlier this week, the proposal was the subject of multiple hearings in both houses of the Legislature that lasted multiple hours,” the governor’s office told the California Post.

“Ultimately, all statewide school management associations, leading superintendents and education professors, major education equity organizations, and over 950 organizations overall expressed their strong support,” the office said.

The California Post has contacted, Barrera, the democrat in the the November runoff for comment.