The State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 is the nonpartisan (originally partisan) elected executive officer of the California Department of Education

California Department of Education

The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement...

. The SPI directs all functions of the Department of Education and executes policies set by the California State Board of Education

California State Board of Education

The California State Board of Education is the governing and policy-making body of the California Department of Education. The State Board of Education sets K-12 education policy in the areas of standards, instructional materials, assessment, and accountability...

. Superintendents serve four-year terms, serves as the state’s chief spokesperson for public schools, provides education policy and direction to local school districts, and also serves as an ex officio member of governing boards of the state’s higher education system. The current Superintendent of Public Instruction is Tom Torlakson

Tom Torlakson

Thomas A. "Tom" Torlakson is an American politician from California. In 2010, he was elected to the position of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the highest education post in California...

.

List of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Name	Party	Date Assumed Office
John G. Marvin	D Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Jan. 1, 1851
Paul K. Hubbs	D	Jan. 1, 1854
Andrew J. Moulder	D	Jan. 1, 1857
John Swett John Swett John Swett is considered to be the "Father of the California public school" system and the "Horace Mann of the Pacific".-Biography:...	Union National Union Party (United States) The National Union Party was the name used by the Republican Party for the national ticket in the 1864 presidential election, held during the Civil War. State Republican parties did not usually change their name....	Jan. 2, 1863
Oscar Penn Fitzgerald Oscar Penn Fitzgerald Oscar Penn Fitzgerald was a Methodist clergyman, journalist and educator. He served as California Superintendent of Public Instruction and was elected a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in 1890....	D	Dec. 2, 1867
Henry N. Bolander	R Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	Dec. 4, 1871
Ezra S. Carr	R	Dec. 6, 1875
Frederick M. Campbell	R	Jan. 5, 1880
William T. Welcker	D	Jan. 8, 1883
Ira G. Hoitt	R	Jan. 3, 1887
J.W. Anderson	R	Jan. 5, 1891
Samuel T. Black	R	Jan. 7, 1895
Charles T. Meredith	D	Sep. 24, 1898
Thomas J. Kirk	R	Jan. 2, 1899
Edward Hyatt	R	Jan. 7, 1907
Will C. Wood	NP	Jan. 6, 1919
William John Cooper William John Cooper William John Cooper was an American educator who served as US Commissioner of Education from February 1929 to July 1933. According to the New York Times: "His fundamental theory of education, which he often repeated, was that the ultimate goal of teaching should be, not how to make a living, but...	NP	Jan. 20, 1927
Vierling C. Kersey	NP	Feb. 11, 1929
Walter F. Dexter Walter F. Dexter Walter Friar Dexter was an American educator and politician. He was born November 21, 1886 in Chicago. He served as president of Whittier College from 1923 to 1934. He was the author of Herbert Hoover's 1932 campaign biography...	NP	Feb. 1, 1937
Roy E. Simpson	NP	Nov. 13, 1945
Max Rafferty Max Rafferty Maxwell Lewis Rafferty was an author, educator, and politician.-Early life:...	NP	Jan. 7, 1963
Wilson C. Riles	NP	Jan. 4, 1971
Bill Honig	NP	Jan. 3, 1983
Vacancy (no superintendent)		Feb. 24, 1993
Delaine Eastin Delaine Eastin Delaine Eastin is an American politician. She served as the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1995 to 2003. A native Californian, Eastin received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Davis, and her master's degree in political science from the...	NP	Jan. 2, 1995
Jack O'Connell Jack O'Connell Jack T. O'Connell is an American politician and the former 26th California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, having been elected to the post in November 2002 with 61% of the vote. He was re-elected to his post by receiving a majority of the vote in the Primary election on June 6, 2006,...	NP	Jan. 5, 2003
Tom Torlakson Tom Torlakson Thomas A. "Tom" Torlakson is an American politician from California. In 2010, he was elected to the position of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the highest education post in California...	NP	Jan. 3, 2011

See also

• "A History of the California State Department of Education, 1900–1967"(undated)
• "The 'Department of Public Instruction' Before 1921" (undated)
• "The Jones Report and the Department of Education, 1921—1927" (undated)
• "Departmental Change and Growth Through the Years of Depression and War, 1927—1945" (undated)
• "The Strayer Report and the Reorganization of the Department, 1945-1963" (undated)
• "The State Superintendent of Public Instruction--A report on the history of the office in the State of California, and a review of the recent trends in the other 49 states" (1963)
• "The Little Reports and Reappraisal, 1963—1967" (1967)
• "The State of Our Schools - Who's in charge of education?" (Editorial), The San Fancisco Chronicle, December 22, 2002, p. E4
• California Department of Education
  California Department of Education
  The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement...
  
  
• California State Board of Education
  California State Board of Education
  The California State Board of Education is the governing and policy-making body of the California Department of Education. The State Board of Education sets K-12 education policy in the areas of standards, instructional materials, assessment, and accountability...
  
  

People

• G. Vernon Bennett
  G. Vernon Bennett
  Guy Vernon Bennett , also known as G. Vernon Bennett, was superintendent of schools in Pomona, California; a professor of education at the University of Southern California, and a Los Angeles city councilman from the 10th District from 1935 to 1951...
  
  , Los Angeles City Council member, 1935–49, ran for state superintendent of public instruction

External links

• Executive Office of the California Department of Education
• Historical Documents