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Senators press GovOps on new Office of Civil Rights funding and staffing as AB 715, SB 48 take effect
Summary
GovOps requested $3.5M (one‑time) and $2.8M ongoing to stand up an Office of Civil Rights to implement AB 715 and SB 48; senators pressed staffing, guidance timing, coordinator roles, and potential backlogs, and the LAO raised no concerns.
The subcommittee reviewed a GovOps proposal to establish an Office of Civil Rights (OCR) responsible for addressing antisemitism and other discrimination in TK–12, implementing AB 715 and SB 48 and providing training, technical assistance and complaint review.
Justin Howard, deputy secretary for fiscal and administrative services at the Government Operations Agency, asked for $3,500,000 in 2026–27 and $2,800,000 ongoing to hire staff, post civil service positions, acquire space and develop materials. He said the director position is posted and being recruited by the governor's appointments office and that staffing and expertise are not yet in place.
LAO analyst Alexander Bentz said the proposal implements recent legislation and expressed no concerns. Department of Finance had no substantive comment.
Lawmakers pressed the administration on urgent implementation questions. Senator Cabaldon noted AB 715 took effect Jan. 1, and asked why the office had not issued guidance districts could rely on; the agency said it does not yet have subject matter experts and cannot develop materials until key hires are complete.
Several senators expressed concern about the distribution of coordinator positions (antisemitism, race/ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+, religious, and potentially disability) and whether equal coordinator counts will match uneven complaint volumes and historic CRD backlogs. "If we don't put the right investments in it, we don't have the right policy," Senator Smallwood Cuevas said, warning the state could worsen inequities without careful implementation.
Agency officials said they plan standing meetings with the Department of Education and will prioritize outreach, integration with the CDE uniform complaint process and flexible resource allocation after hiring and initial workload assessment. The committee held the item open and requested benchmarks for expected first‑year outcomes (positions filled, materials developed, outreach begun).
