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  "description": "“California’s students deserve a state superintendent who understands the system from the inside — from the bottom and the top — and who is committed to making it work better for every one of them. That is the experience and the commitment I bring to this race.”",
  "path": "/meet-the-state-superintendent-candidates-josh-newman-former-state-senate-education-committee-chair/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-19T13:53:26.000Z",
  "site": "https://ielaw.news",
  "tags": [
    "EdSource",
    "Sign up",
    "reelection bid",
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  "textContent": "_This story was originally published by_ EdSource_._ Sign up_for their daily newsletter._\n\nFormer state Sen. Josh Newman said that if elected state superintendent of public instruction, he would focus on improving student outcomes in literacy, math and science, aligning the school day with the workday and expanding career pathways to support college, career technical education, or both.\n\nIn a recent interview with EdSource, Newman said he wants to “reorient and revitalize” the California Department of Education into a “more collaborative, proactive, consultative partner” for school districts and charter schools that make up the state’s public education system.\n\nNewman is a senior fellow at UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology, where he co-taught a course on state politics and policy. He chaired the Senate Education Committee for two years during the 2023-24 legislative session.\n\nHe announced his run for state superintendent about six months after losing a Senate reelection bid for the 37th district, which he represented from 2021 to 2024. As of the end of March, Newman has raised more than $247,000 in contributions of $1,000 or more, placing him in the middle of the fundraising pack, with competitors ranging from under $20,000 to nearly $1.2 million.\n\n### Shift toward education\n\nNewman’s legislative experience will be crucial, he said, in a year when California elects a new governor. This shift increases the importance of having a superintendent who understands the education ecosystem, “but equally as important, has an even fuller understanding of how the legislative world works,” said Newman.\n\nMichael Davies-Hughes, Humboldt County superintendent, said he decided to endorse Newman after a one-on-one conversation at a local coffee shop last year.\n\nFor Davies-Hughes, who has held various roles in education, ranging from coach to principal to county superintendent, Newman’s travel to the North Coast and reaching out to the local education community were a good first sign.\n\nThe state superintendent position, Davies-Hughes continued, requires “a really good pulse of the realities on the ground right now” while also anticipating needs by working alongside regional and local leaders.\n\n“I got the sense that Josh understood that in a way that I have not heard from others,” said Davies-Hughes.\n\nHe said Newman is a good listener and communicator who is willing to connect directly with local education leaders — a trait that is critical for a state superintendent to meet “basic needs that all students in California have.”\n\nIn a separate interview, Newman discussed tapping into local expertise from education leaders.\n\n“There are hundreds — literally hundreds and hundreds of superintendents — that would like nothing more than to be more consulted and have an opportunity to work closely with CDE, but it simply hasn’t been happening over the last several years as CDE has become kind of a compliance operation,” said Newman.\n\nDavies-Hughes said he is not concerned about Newman’s lack of direct experience in schools. “It is more important that someone is willing and able to leverage the position that they have to ensure that students get what they need, not necessarily that they are the expert in what they’re trying to support.”\n\n##### Newman’s priorities\n\nTo improve student outcomes in literacy, including civics literacy, math and science, Newman proposes using standard metrics to identify high-performing districts and determine best practices to “replicate and expand and scale” statewide so that “every district benefits from the kinds of insights, innovations that are clearly happening but quite often not brought to bear.”\n\nAligning the school day with the workday, Newman said, could include expanded learning programs available year-round from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., not only during the school year.\n\nNewman’s third top priority is to provide students with career pathways that could lead to college, career technical education, or a combination of both.\n\nNewman is endorsed by over a dozen unions representing workers from a range of trades, including electrical, construction, commercial and industrial insulation. In 2024, he introduced Senate Bill 1244, which sought to expand dual enrollment partnerships between school districts and community college districts. The bill was inspired by a conversation with his local superintendent, he said.\n\nIt is that mix of college and workforce options that Newman seeks to infuse into the state’s public school system.\n\n“We don’t have a good set of policies nor do we have a consensus as to how to fund both at once,” said Newman. “But the truth is, as the economy changes really rapidly, that becomes ever more pressing to do.”",
  "title": "Meet the State Superintendent candidates: Josh Newman, former state Senate Education Committee chair",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-19T13:53:27.123Z"
}