California Superintendent of Public Instruction 2026: A Constitutionalist Voter Guide to Every Candidate

California’s schools aren’t just struggling with test scores and budgets — they’re caught in the middle of a full-on culture and control battle, too. Between fights over parent notification, gender policies, curriculum “reforms,” and endless bureaucracy, a lot of parents feel like the system is treating them as a problem to be managed instead of partners in their kids’ education. The 2026 race for Superintendent of Public Instruction is where all of that comes to a head. So I went through every candidate and graded them from a constitutionalist perspective — limited government, strong parental rights, local control, and less ideological indoctrination disguised as “education.” If you’ve ever looked at what’s happening in California classrooms and thought, “Who is actually on the side of parents and students here?” this breakdown is for you.

The Democratic candidates

Richard Barrera

Barrera is president of the San Diego Unified school board and won the endorsement of the powerful California Teachers Association. He’s positioning himself as a Sacramento outsider despite being a senior advisor to outgoing Superintendent Tony Thurmond. His platform focuses on boosting school funding, early childhood education, and making it easier to become a teacher. On transgender issues, he supports California’s current law allowing participation based on gender identity and says “the student’s wish on whether to inform parents should carry the greatest weight”. From a constitutionalist perspective, he represents the union establishment and favors expanding state programs over local autonomy.

Wendy Castañeda-Leal

Castañeda-Leal is superintendent of Semitropic Elementary School District in Kern County, a rural single-school district with about 140 students. She has experience in alternative schools and multilingual education programs. On parent notification, she chose the most permissive option: “the student’s wish should always take precedence” over parental rights. Her rural background might suggest more practical, less ideological governance, but her stance on parental notification conflicts with constitutionalist values of parental authority.

Nichelle Henderson

Henderson is a Los Angeles Community College District trustee with a teaching background in Compton Unified. She has strong endorsements from the California Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus, California Legislative Black Caucus, and California Young Democrats. She supports “divesting state pensions from fossil fuels and the U.S. war machine”, signaling a progressive activist approach. On transgender athletes, she wants federal-state alignment and case-by-case decisions. She represents the progressive activist wing rather than practical education governance.

Frank Lara

Lara is a San Francisco elementary school teacher and former vice president of the United Educators of San Francisco teachers union. He’s running with Peace and Freedom Party backing. He “strongly supports allowing transgender athletes to participate on the teams of their self-identified gender” and believes “the child’s wish should carry the greatest weight” on parent notification. He’s the most openly left-wing Democrat in the race and represents union activism over local control or parental rights.

Ainye Long

Long is a San Francisco Unified middle school math department chair who ran four years ago and nearly made the runoff. She has the ballot designation “public school teacher” and previously worked as a senior administrator at a charter school group. She supports California’s transgender athlete law but didn’t elaborate on whether she personally endorses it. She didn’t answer the parent notification question. Her charter school background suggests some openness to alternatives, but her positions are underdeveloped.

Al Muratsuchi

Muratsuchi represents the 66th Assembly District and chairs the Assembly Education Committee. He’s authored 23 education bills, co-authored Proposition 2 (the $10 billion school facilities bond), and serves as an adjunct professor at El Camino College. He has endorsements from the Association of California School Administrators, California Federation of Teachers, and California School Employees Association. On transgender athletes, he called it a “made-up controversy” and supports current law. On parent notification, he believes “the child’s wish should carry the greatest weight”. He’s the most credentialed establishment Democrat and represents Sacramento-centered education policy.

Josh Newman

Newman is a former state senator and former chair of the Senate Education Committee, now a fellow at UC Irvine. He’s an Army veteran who co-authored Proposition 2 with Muratsuchi. He has the State Building and Construction Trades Council endorsement. On transgender athletes, he acknowledges “many Californians have sincere questions about how to balance inclusion with competitive fairness” and says polling shows majority support for some limits. On parent notification, he believes “the child’s wish should carry the greatest weight”. He’s more willing to acknowledge public concerns than most Democrats, but still leans toward progressive policy positions.

Anthony Rendon

Rendon was Assembly Speaker from 2016-2023 and previously directed early childhood education programs. During his speakership, K-12 funding nearly doubled and transitional kindergarten was introduced. He has endorsements from AFSCME, SEIU California, and the California Latino Caucus. He supports the CIF’s compromise approach on transgender athletes and believes “the child’s wish should carry the greatest weight” on parent notification. He emphasizes technology policy, including implementing California’s classroom phone ban. He’s the most powerful establishment Democrat in the race and represents Sacramento-driven education expansion.

The Republican candidates

Gus Mattammal

Mattammal runs a tutoring company with multistate operations and has served on elected boards in San Mateo County. He supports charter schools, homeschooling, and alternatives to traditional public schools. On immigration enforcement, he says schools should comply with valid warrants but otherwise shouldn’t assist federal enforcement. On transgender athletes, he says “every student should be entitled to participate in athletics, but it may not be on their first-choice team” and supports participation based on biology. On parent notification, he supports mandatory disclosure with exceptions only for documented abuse. He’s the most market-oriented candidate and the clearest advocate for school choice and parental rights.

Sonja Shaw

Shaw is president of the Chino Valley Unified school board and has become nationally known as a vocal opponent of transgender student protections. She presided over a 2023 school board meeting where Superintendent Thurmond was escorted out during a debate over transgender student rights. She supports mandatory parent notification and opposes transgender athletes in girls’ sports, saying “girls are losing roster spots, medals and scholarships”. She has endorsements from the California Republican Party, Moms for Liberty, and the California Rifle and Pistol Association. She supports “a shift away from radical ideologies in the classroom and a return to the academic basics”. She’s the most culturally conservative candidate and the strongest advocate for parental rights and traditional education.

From your constitutionalist perspective

Best fits: Sonja Shaw and Gus Mattammal are the clearest matches for constitutionalist principles. Shaw is the most aggressive defender of parental rights and local control, while Mattammal offers the strongest support for school choice and market alternatives.

Problematic for constitutionalists: All the Democrats support state-level intervention over local control, favor union interests over parental rights, and oppose letting parents know about their children’s gender identity issues at school. Rendon and Muratsuchi represent the Sacramento establishment most clearly, while Lara and Henderson represent the progressive activist wing.

Wild card: Newman is the only Democrat who acknowledges public concerns about transgender athlete fairness, but he still supports progressive policy outcomes.

Rank	Candidate	Grade	Why (constitutionalist lens)
1	Sonja Shaw	A	Vocal defender of parental notification, opposes transgender policies that sideline parents, attacks “radical ideologies” and pushes a return to academic basics. Strongest alignment with parental rights, local control, and cultural pushback.
2	Gus Mattammal	A-	Supports charter schools, homeschooling, and alternatives to traditional public schools; backs biology-based sports and mandatory parent notification (with narrow abuse exceptions). Very strong on choice and parental authority, slightly less culture-war focused than Shaw.
3	Ainye Long	C+	Classroom teacher with some charter admin background, suggesting openness to alternatives. Did not answer parent-notification question and generally avoids hard stances, so potential but unclear commitment to parental rights and broader reforms.
4	Wendy Castañeda-Leal	C	Rural small-district superintendent with hands-on experience, which is a plus for local perspective. But she explicitly says the student’s wish should always take precedence on parent notification, which directly conflicts with constitutionalist parental-rights priorities.
5	Josh Newman	C-	More honest than most Democrats about fairness concerns in transgender athletics and public unease, but still supports progressive policy outcomes and believes the child’s wish should carry the greatest weight on disclosure. Slightly more reality-based, but not aligned with your framework.
6	Al Muratsuchi	D+	Highly experienced Sacramento education insider; authored many funding and facilities bills, strongly tied to unions. Dismisses culture-war issues, backs current transgender policies, and puts child preference over parents in notification, making him a poor fit for limited-government, parental-rights priorities.
7	Anthony Rendon	D	Former Assembly Speaker and architect of big expansions in K–12 and TK spending. Deeply tied to Sacramento power structure and public-sector unions, supports current transgender approach and child-first notification standard. Embodies the centralization and elite insulation you criticize.
8	Richard Barrera	D-	Backed by the California Teachers Association, advisor to the outgoing superintendent while branding himself an outsider. Supports current gender-identity policies and says the student’s wish on parent notification should carry the most weight. Union-establishment candidate, strongly misaligned with your views.
9	Nichelle Henderson	F	Progressive activist profile: supports divesting state pensions from fossil fuels and the “U.S. war machine,” and lines up with the progressive caucuses. No emphasis on parental rights, local control, or school choice; represents the ideological, union-aligned wing you most oppose.
10	Frank Lara	F	Peace and Freedom–aligned union leader, strongly supports expansive transgender policies and maximally student-centered secrecy on parent notification. Most openly left-wing candidate; stands farthest from constitutionalist priorities on virtually every axis.

At the end of the day, this race isn’t about which politician can craft the nicest slogan about “the kids” — it’s about who will actually stand up for parents, protect local control, and keep Sacramento and activist groups from using classrooms as their sandbox. You’ve got a few candidates who clearly get that (especially Sonja Shaw and Gus Mattammal), and a long list of insiders who are perfectly comfortable with the status quo as long as the unions are happy and the talking points poll well. My grades aren’t meant to tell you how to vote, but to give you a clear, honest starting point so you’re not walking into the voting booth blind. If you believe schools should teach reading, writing, math, and real civics — not hide major issues from parents or punish dissent — then this is one of the most important boxes you’ll check on the June 2 ballot.