Sonja Shaw
Candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction
Sonja Shaw leads a San Bernardino County school board: Chino Valley Unified. She is its president. She is one of two hopefuls for state schools chief. The vote is set for November 3, 2026. The job has no party label on the ballot. It is nonpartisan. Shaw is widely seen as a Republican. Her strongest support comes from conservative groups. Per her official district biography, Shaw was born and raised in Chino. She went to school there too. She graduated from Ayala High School. She lives in Chino with her husband, Chris. She is the mother of two students in the district. She owns two small firms. One trains personal fitness instructors. The other does professional photography. She holds a real estate license. She also leads a Bible study group. News profiles say the COVID-19 pandemic pulled her into politics. She put her daughters in a charter school, for in-person classes. She then began rallying other parents. They packed school board meetings. She soon ran for an open seat herself. She won a board seat in November 2022. She became board president in 2023. She drew national notice in 2023. That year the board passed a rule on transgender students. It required parents be notified. State schools chief Tony Thurmond was walked out of that meeting. Coverage calls her an outspoken foe of transgender-student protections. She and her backers call it advocacy instead: for parents' rights, and for basic schooling. In the June 2, 2026 primary she placed first, in a field of ten. No one topped 50%. She and the runner-up, Richard Barrera, both advanced to November. Barrera leads the San Diego school board and got 20.3%. The seat is open, since Thurmond is leaving it. News coverage says a state Moms for Liberty chapter backs her campaign. It also says Republicans have broadly rallied behind her. It notes a tough road ahead: no Republican has won statewide office in California since 2006. Home: Chino, San Bernardino County area, California. Job: School board president, Chino Valley Unified. She also owns small businesses, in fitness training and photography. Her 2026 ballot label reads 'School District President.' Prior office: School board member, elected November 2022. She has been board president since 2023. No office before 2022 was found.
On the issues
- Education & Schools
Opposes policies letting transgender girls use girls' locker rooms or compete on girls' sports teams, arguing they undermine fairness and safety.
“Policies allowing boys to undress in girls' locker rooms and play on their sports teams undermine fairness and safety.”
Source → - Education & Schools
Points to statewide reading and writing shortfalls as a crisis and calls for a back-to-basics curriculum focused on reading, writing, and math.
“Half of our students can't read or write at grade level, a crisis that threatens their futures.”
Source → - Education & Schools
Emphasizes parental rights and transparency in schools, criticizing pandemic-era mask and vaccine mandates that she says silenced parents' voices in their children's education.
Source →
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