Senate Rules Committee hears State Board of Education nominees on literacy, ethnic studies and enrollment; advances reappointments

The Senate Rules Committee on June 25 heard opening remarks from Allison Yoshimoto Tauri and another State Board of Education member during a reappointment hearing that covered literacy instruction, ethnic studies guidance, charter schools, career technical education and accountability for local spending. After public comment and detailed questioning, the committee voted to advance the reappointments to the Senate floor.

Allison Yoshimoto Tauri described coming from a family of small-business owners and noted her experience in schools: “I take this appointment very seriously,” she said, and said her work as a paraprofessional, teacher and district leader shaped her view that schools matter to students’ futures.

A second board member, introduced during the hearing, described a long career in education and said the State Board’s work affects nearly California’s “6,000,000 public school students.” Both nominees thanked the board staff and their families during opening remarks.

Committee members asked detailed questions about current education debates. Vice Chair Laird and others pressed the nominees on how the state board plans to respond while litigation proceeds on parental-rights and privacy issues; the nominees said they would not comment on pending cases but pointed staff and parents to official guidance and state-agency resources. Members also asked about the status of ethnic studies implementation; the nominees said a model curriculum exists, that no appropriation has triggered a statewide graduation requirement, and that districts should use the model curriculum and the uniform complaint process if concerns arise.

Senators pressed the nominees on literacy instruction. Multiple board members said they support evidence-based reading instruction and described phonics as an important element of foundational literacy, while noting that phonics is one part of a broader set of skills including phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension and writing. The nominees described state investments and programs — including literacy coach and reading specialist training and prior changes to teacher preparation — intended to improve early reading outcomes.

Committee members questioned the nominees on enrollment declines, charter schools, the California Dashboard and the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). Nominees said declining enrollment is multi-causal (lower birth rates, housing costs and parental choice) and highlighted state investments such as the California Community Schools Initiative and youth behavioral health funding. On LCAP accountability, nominees described changes to the state template and the dashboard intended to clarify the link between spending and student outcomes and noted ongoing work to strengthen career-related indicators.

Public commenters representing school business officials, county superintendents and other associations spoke in support of the reappointments. Sarah Petrovski of the California Association of School Business Officials spoke for school business officials in support of the reappointments; other organizational supporters included the County Superintendents and the Association of California School Administrators.

A motion was made to advance the reappointments to the Senate floor. The committee initially recorded a 2–2 vote when one member stepped out; after recall and a follow-up roll call, the committee recorded a 3–2 vote to advance the nominations to the full Senate.

The nominees will next face a full Senate confirmation vote. The record for the hearing includes their opening statements, several hours of questioning across multiple topics of statewide education policy, supportive public commenters, and the committee’s final 3–2 vote to advance the reappointments.