ECS
2012 State of the State Address
Education-Related Proposals
Washington


Education Commission of the States • 700 Broadway, Suite 810 • Denver, CO 80203-3442 • 303.299.3600 • fax 303.296.8332 • www.ecs.org

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2012 state of the state address. To assure that this information reaches you in a timely manner, minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) or format.

Governor Chris Gregoire's State of the State Address

PROPOSALS

Accountability
-- Step in and turn around schools where dropout rates are high, student performance and achievement are low, and where no progress is being made.

Teaching Quality - Evaluations
-- Overhaul the way teachers are evaluated by focusing on high-quality instruction, student achievement and growth.
-- Provide a system to evaluate the performance of principals based on student achievement.

Finance
-- Lift the levy lid.
-- Fund levy equalization.

P-3 - Preschool, Kindergarten
-- Continue implementation of all-day kindergarten for all kids.
-- Create "All Start," a voluntary Washington preschool program to provide early learning opportunities to all 3- and 4-year-olds.

Postsecondary - Community/Technical Colleges
-- Provide funding to community and technical colleges to retrain 2,500 workers for the jobs of tomorrow.

Postsecondary - Finance
-- Provide four-year institutions with competitive tuition flexibility.
-- Restore funding for the State Need Grant Program in order to keep the doors to higher education open to students of all income levels.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Student Achievement
-- K-12 student test scores continue to rank high nationally.

School Choice
-- Innovative schools in cities around the state have been highly successful in raising vital math and science skills.

Postsecondary - Community/Technical Colleges
-- Community and technical college system is rated as one of the best in the nation

Teaching Quality
-- Rank fifth in the nation in board-certified educators.

http://www.governor.wa.gov/speeches/speech-view.asp?SpeechSeq=213