[2] Tobriner was appointed to the Washington Board of Education in 1952 and served from 1952 to 1961, the last four years as president.

He was an early supporter of Civil Rights and following the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision he advocated for speedy compliance with the decision and created a school integration system that became the model for the country.

He found the three-member Board awkward and inefficient and supported President Johnson's re-organization of the District government under a single Mayor-Commissioner and 9-member council.

He supported a civil rights unit in the legal office and the creation of 2-year and 4-year public colleges in the District.

[2] During his time on the board he was, from 1964-67, a trustee of the National Cultural Center when plans for the Kennedy Center were drafted; and was, from 1966 to 1967, the chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, when the first contracts for the new subway system contracts were awarded.

[2] Tobriner died on July 19, 1979, and was buried at National Memorial Park in West Falls Church, Virginia.