State Superintendents

The U.S. Department of Education building is seen behind the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial on Oct. 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Education building is seen behind the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial on Oct. 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The department is shifting many of its functions to four other federal agencies as the Trump administration tries to downsize it. State education chiefs stand to be most directly affected.
Maansi Srivastava for Education Week
Federal What State Education Chiefs Think as Trump Moves Programs Out of the Ed. Dept.
The department's announcement this week represents a consequential structural change for states.
Brooke Schultz, November 20, 2025
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6 min read
Cafeteria workers serve student lunches at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
Cafeteria workers serve student lunches at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students regardless of their family's income. Now, in Oklahoma, state Superintendent Ryan Walters is mandating that districts provide free meals to all students, although no state law requiring them has passed and the state hasn't set aside additional money.
Richard Vogel/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement A State Chief's Order to Schools: Provide Free Meals for All—With No New Funding
Oklahoma's state superintendent told districts to fully cover student meal costs. Districts say the mandate is costly and unenforceable.
Evie Blad, July 10, 2025
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6 min read
Ryan Walters, Republican state superintendent candidate, speaks, June 28, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters is pictured on June 28, 2022, in Oklahoma City when he was a candidate for the position he now holds. Walters this week told districts he would halt federal funding beginning Friday, April 25, if they don't certify they're not using diversity, equity, and inclusion programming in schools.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
States Oklahoma Will Cut Funding to Districts That Don't Sign Trump's Anti-DEI Pledge
The state says it will withhold federal funds from districts that don't sign a Trump administration DEI pledge.
Brooke Schultz, April 23, 2025
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8 min read
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt answers a question while taking part in a panel discussion during a Republican Governors Association conference, Nov. 16, 2022, in Orlando, Fla.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt answers a question while taking part in a panel discussion during a Republican Governors Association conference, Nov. 16, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. The governor recently opposed a rule from the state's superintendent of public instruction requiring proof of citizenship in school enrollment.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
States Proof of Legal Status to Enroll in an Oklahoma School? It's Complicated
Public schools don’t track the number of undocumented students enrolled due to a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Ileana Najarro, February 28, 2025
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4 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. President Donald Trump has tapped Baesler to serve as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
Federal Trump Picks Long-Serving State Chief With Bipartisan Fans for Top Ed. Dept. Role
Trump nominated North Dakota State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler to a key post overseeing K-12 policy at the U.S. Department of Education.
Alyson Klein, February 14, 2025
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5 min read
N.C. State Superintendent democratic candidate Mo Green speaks during a debate with fellow candidate Michele Morrow at the Heart Institute at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., on Sept. 24, 2024.
Mo Green, the Democratic candidate for schools chief in North Carolina, speaks during a debate with GOP candidate Michele Morrow at the Heart Institute at East Carolina University in Greenville on Sept. 24. Green defeated Morrow.
Scott Davis/The Daily Reflector via AP
States Democrat Defeats a State Schools Chief Candidate Who Called for Public Executions
A candidate's past calls for Democrats' executions thrust one of this year's four state superintendent races into the national spotlight.
Alyson Klein, November 6, 2024
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3 min read
Ryan Walters, then-Republican candidate for Oklahoma State Superintendent, speaks at a rally, Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Ryan Walters speaks at a rally on Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City as a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction. He won the race and has built a national profile for governing in the MAGA mold.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
Federal Q&A Oklahoma State Chief Ryan Walters: 'Trump's Won the Argument on Education'
The state schools chief's name comes up as Republicans discuss who could become education secretary in a second Trump administration.
Alyson Klein, October 18, 2024
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8 min read
Ryan Walters speaks at a rally, Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City. Republican State Superintendent Walters ordered public schools Thursday, June 27, 2024, to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12, the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms.
Oklahoma state Superintendent Ryan Walters speaks at a rally on Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City. Walters is now facing scrutiny from GOP lawmakers, who seek an investigation into his stewardship of education funding and his agency's transparency.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
States Oklahoma GOP Lawmakers Demand Investigation of Education Chief
They have concerns about Ryan Walters' stewardship of federal and state funds and his transparency on meetings and open-records requests.
Brooke Schultz, August 15, 2024
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4 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options for student assessment during a press conference May 8, 2015, in Bismarck, N.D. Baesler, the nation's longest-serving state schools chief, is running for a fourth term, facing opponents with no experience serving in public schools.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
States The Surprising Contenders for State Superintendent Offices This Year
Two elections for the top education leadership job feature candidates who have never worked in public schools.
Libby Stanford, June 17, 2024
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8 min read
Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven talks to students participating in Future Farmers of America during an event in February 2024, in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven talks to students participating in Future Farmers of America during an event in February 2024, in Jefferson City, Mo. Vandeven is stepping down from her position after more than eight years on the job.
Courtesy of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
States Q&A 'Politics Does Not Belong in Education,' Says a Departing State Schools Chief
Improving student outcomes requires finding common ground, says Missouri's long-serving education commissioner, Margie Vandeven.
Libby Stanford, June 4, 2024
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9 min read
Dr. Carey Wright, the interim state superintendent for Maryland, discusses improving literacy instruction and achievement with Stephen Sawchuk, an assistant managing editor for Education Week, during the 2024 Leadership Symposium in Arlington, Va. on Friday, May 3, 2024.
Carey Wright, the state superintendent for Maryland, discusses improving literacy instruction and achievement during Education Week's Leadership Symposium in Arlington, Va., on May 3, 2024.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Reading & Literacy The Key Parts of a 'Science of Reading' Transformation, According to One State Chief
Under Carey Wright's leadership, Mississippi pulled off a reading "miracle." She has a similar transformation in mind for Maryland.
Libby Stanford, May 6, 2024
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6 min read
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Laura Baker/Education Week with iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence 'The Backlash on AI Is Coming': 3 Early Lessons for K-12 Education
State education chiefs must figure out how to make the most of AI’s potential while steering around its problems.
Alyson Klein, March 22, 2024
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3 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How One State Is Talking About School Improvement
The country's longest-serving state schools chief addresses what's changed in the field of education during her tenure.
Rick Hess, December 21, 2023
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6 min read
Tulsa Public Schools board members Jennettie Marshall, left, and president Stacey Woolley speak to the members of the State Board of Education during a meeting where the board voted 6-0 to approve accreditation with deficiencies for the Tulsa Public School district in the Oliver Hodge Building on Aug. 24, 2023, in Oklahoma City.
Tulsa Public Schools board members Jennettie Marshall, left, and president Stacey Woolley speak to the members of Oklahoma's board of education on Aug. 24, 2023. The board voted 6-0 to approve accreditation with deficiencies for the district, for now averting the possibility of state control.
Daniel Shular/Tulsa World via AP
School & District Management Tulsa Maintains Accreditation, Averting State Control—For Now
But the district's school board president issued an unusual rebuke to Oklahoma's top education official.
Evie Blad, August 24, 2023
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5 min read
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