Demand Accountability: Restore Transparency and Local Control to Stop the "World of Hurt"

For all California’s talk about equity and liberalism, it has condemned nearly 6 million students in its public schools to “a world of hurt” that fails to hold administrators accountable, a recent commentary concluded.

“A state that prides itself on being in the forefront of social progress still tolerates an education governance system created in the 19th century,” writes CalMatters columnist Dan Walters. 

Over time, this administrative patchwork – including the governor, state school board and superintendent, area and county elected boards and superintendents, Legislature and courts – has kept “voters and parents from really knowing who to hold accountable for obvious shortcomings,” Walters argues. 

“When things are going well, such as an upward spike in test scores, there’s a rush to claim credit. But when problems arise, everyone involved points to someone or something else.”