Advancing Oversight, Strengthening Democracy
What is the State Oversight Academy?
The State Oversight Academy is the first and only national institution dedicated to promoting effective bipartisan fact-finding and oversight by state legislatures as essential to good governance and democracy.
SOA will build a national community of practitioners, scholars and other experts, good government advocates, and the public interested in advancing transparent and accountable government and mitigating disinformation that can foster extremism and stymy dialogue across the political divide. By advancing the theory and practice of bipartisan, fact-based legislative oversight, SOA will become a leader in advancing democratic renewal and civic discourse across the United States.
Objectives
1. Improving the practice of oversight in state legislatures across the country via trainings and events with lawmakers and staff
2. Fostering academic research and scholarship on state legislative oversight
3. Translating scholarship into actionable best practices to be shared among states
4. Increasing the visibility of legislative oversight as an essential legislative function
SOA 3rd Symposium
"Legislators and Academics in Collaboration"
June 26, 2025 - Zoom Webinar
Register now for the State Oversight Academy’s 3rd symposium! Scholars and practitioners will come together to discuss how we can use research to improve legislative oversight. We will hear from keynote speakers, see presentations of working papers (submit yours now) and reviews from practitioners, recognize our 2025 Oversight Leaders, and host a roundtable discussion!
State Oversight Academy's Oversight Training Program
Enroll now!
In this online, on demand course intended for state legislators and staff, you will learn how to conduct an in-depth oversight investigation using the six avenues of oversight over nine classes. Each lesson includes an instructional video (typically 20 to 40 minutes long), interviews with practitioners and academics, examples of best practices in the states, and a short assignment to explore how you can apply the lesson in your legislature.
For the first six months, we are offering this program for free to those who enroll and provide feedback! Register now!
State Legislative Oversight Wiki 2.0
State legislatures conduct oversight in countless ways and often through committees and with help from partner agencies. SOA’s Wiki is the first resource of its kind to include links to legislatures and committee websites; committee jurisdictional information; recommended agency reports; and fiscal data; as well as a submission tool for legislators, department officials, and staff to submit their own updates and corrections.
State Oversight Workshops, Masterclasses, & Events
We produce oversight masterclasses; hold regular panels, classes, and presentations about important topics in state legislative oversight; as well as custom-designed oversight workshops for members of state legislatures and their staff seeking to strengthen their ability to conduct fact-based, bipartisan, high-quality investigations.
State Oversight Matters Blog
The State Oversight Academy’s blog, State Oversight Matters, offers expert advice on conducting oversight investigations in your state legislature, oversight news from statehouses across the country, and other important topics in the field.
Oversight Overview and Headlines
Oversight Overview is a video series that explores how state legislatures across the nation are performing oversight of a particular issue, such as Medicare, corrections, and child welfare. Headlines explores hot news topics during the legislative session.
Checks and Balances in Action - Legislative Oversight across the States
The Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy commissioned a study of each state legislature’s capacity to conduct oversight and the extent to which each state uses that capacity. Find out more about your state’s oversight performance in this unique resource.
State Oversight Academy Newsletter
What’s happening in the world of oversight? Our monthly newsletter includes updates from state legislatures across the country, an overview of SOA’s activities, and announcements for the upcoming month! Missed an issue? Catch up here.
State Oversight Academy Oversight Leaders designation identifies one or more state legislators, legislative staff, committees, or elected or appointed state officials each year who have demonstrated an extraordinary effort to conduct fact-based, bipartisan, in-depth oversight.
State Oversight Resources
We are a knowledge hub and resource center for state legislatures. Browse our state legislative oversight directories, articles, and Levin Center testimony here.
Our FAST (Federal and State Tutorials) Classes are short podcasts with experts that provide brief introductions to new oversight tools, concepts, or topics. This quick listen is full of tips to get your oversight investigation off the ground! Available in the podcast feed of the Levin Center’s Oversight Matters on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen online here.
SOA in the News
- MIRS Monday podcast feat. Levin Center director Jim Townsend (March 27, 2023) at 26:10 – 42:50.
- Detroit Free Press, op-ed by Levin Center director Jim Townsend (March 28, 2023): New Levin Center academy offers Michigan better legislative oversight
- Detroit Today: Wayne State University program aims to help legislatures conduct oversight, interview with Levin Center director Jim Townsend (April 6, 2023)
“Having the Levin Center teach legislators and legislatures on the importance of oversight -- and the skill and the art of oversight -- is critical. 26 years ago, I worked on Capitol Hill and observed grizzled senators conduct real, old-fashioned oversight and hold agency heads and cabinet secretaries' feet to the fire. What we see on C-SPAN is generally missing in many state legislatures, and I think we can all do a better job.”
Thank you for your recent webinars highlighting how legislators can use audit work to make meaningful changes in public life. We appreciate the Levin Center bringing together experts for meaningful discussion. And keeping the recordings on the Center’s YouTube channel ensures we can use the videos to train our auditors as well.
