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Currently a senior deputy commissioner, King is replacing outgoing Commissioner David Steiner. King will assume the position on June 15 and has asked his salary be reduced by 15 percent.

Steiner said in a statement, "John was my partner in every reform we have pursued over the past two years from realigning proficiency standards on our third to eighth grade assessments, to advancing new models for teacher preparation, evaluation and development, to rethinking how we turn around failing schools. He coordinated our Race to the Top application and has worked closely with me in the effort to make New York's standards and assessments more rigorous and more aligned to college and career readiness. He will be an excellent commissioner who will make a tremendous difference in the lives of New York [State's] 3.1 million school children."

The state education commission has granted the waivers that allowed Joel Klein, Cathie Black and Dennis Walcott to be chancellor of the city's public school system, as they lacked the required educational degrees to hold the position.

King was born in Brooklyn to two educators, and he will be the state's first African American and Puerto Rican commissioner.

His father, John King Sr., was the first African-American principal in Brooklyn.