On Aug. 19, I joined ACSA President Dr. Rene Rickard, Executive Director Dr. Edgar Zazueta and members of our Executive Board for a meeting with Xavier Becerra, ACSA’s endorsed candidate and the front-runner to become California’s next governor. President Rickard set the tone from the outset, grounding the conversation in ACSA’s student-first mission and the responsibility our members carry every day to create the conditions for students to learn and thrive. She also emphasized that state and school leaders need to work as partners in shaping policy that serves students.

The meeting reinforced a quality I have seen from Becerra since his time as California Attorney General — he likes to dig in. Becerra had lots of questions for us. He wanted to understand the mechanics behind the issues we raised, asked follow-up questions, and repeatedly dug into nuances that too often get lost in policymaking. That approach gives me confidence that a Becerra administration will want to understand not just what a policy is intended to do, but how it would actually work — or not work — in schools.

That matters. Decisions made in Sacramento have significant consequences for students and directly shape their experiences in schools. Good policy requires not only a clear objective, but also an understanding of the real-world effects of the choices made at the state level.

Our discussion of local control was a good example. We talked about balancing meaningful accountability for student outcomes with the reality that California’s size and diversity require flexibility in how schools meet those expectations. Becerra agreed that school communities need flexibility to respond to local needs and circumstances. We also dug into Proposition 98. We were clear that California must honor and fully fund its constitutional commitment to public education. We highlighted the difficult decisions declining enrollment and other fiscal pressures are creating for districts.

The conversation also covered the new California education commissioner and our belief that Becerra should appoint someone with direct experience working with and supporting schools.

Becerra spoke about public education as central to making the California Dream possible and emphasized the value of hearing directly from school leaders. He committed to continuing to engage with ACSA throughout his administration.

For me, the meeting reinforced the reasons behind ACSA’s endorsement of Becerra. That does not mean we will agree with his administration on every issue, nor should that be the expectation. What matters is having the opportunity to help shape decisions while they are being made and knowing the perspectives of school leaders will be taken seriously.

There is plenty of hard work ahead. I left the meeting optimistic about what a Becerra administration can mean for California’s students and public schools.

​​Iván Carrillo is the senior director of Policy and Governmental Relations at ACSA.