2008 State of the State Addresses Education-Related Proposals by Issue

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2008 state of the state addresses. To assure that this information reaches you in a timely manner, minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) or format. To view the documents, click on the blue triangle next to the state. Accountability 2 Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman's State of the State Address Ensure a pre-kindergarten through college education system that is accountable, affordable, efficient, and student focused. Accountability, Standards -- Accountability requires measuring school district academic success and Nebraska needs a simplified student measurement system for comparing school district performance. The goal is better testing, not more testing. School district leaders need to focus their time and energy on closing the academic achievement gap. More parents need to be involved in their children's education. More rigorous academic standards are needed in our schools and overall academic performance must be improved. Economic Development -- Create a new tier of performance based incentives that reward the creation of higher paying jobs through a new program called the Nebraska Super Advantage. The Nebraska Super Advantage is about the next decade and the next generation of Nebraskans. Finance -- Expand the tax relief package passed during the 2007 session by directing an additional $75 million to property tax reductions. -- Fully-fund the state aid to schools formula. Provide an additional $53 million in funding for K-12 schools in FY 2008-09, bringing the state's appropriation for K-12 education to more than $900 million next year. Health -- Reverse the trend of childhood obesity. Obesity is a problem that needs to be addressed in our schools, in our work places, in our homes, and in our communities. This issue doesn't require a new law. It's about eating properly and exercising regularly. Both children and adults need to be physically active. State Student Information System -- Fund development of a single student information system for the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska State College System. Postsecondary -- Nebraska's higher education system should also be more accountable, more integrated and more efficient. The University of Nebraska, our state colleges and our community colleges can work together in a more cooperative manner. The University of Nebraska is a key component to Nebraska's future and they must redefine their priorities to reflect the education and financial challenges of the 21st century. -- Increasing the college attendance rate is critical. Expanded enrollment means increased tuition revenue growth which is necessary given the fiscal realities of the state budget. -- Increased enrollments and revenues to our colleges through innovation like the University of Nebraska at Omaha's differential tuition rate to attract more students to UNO are important. http://www.gov.state.ne.us/speeches/2008_01/200801StateOfTheState.pdf New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's State of the State Address Accountability -- This year, with the support of the Regents, our partners in this effort, we will take education accountability to the next level. We will set improvement targets for specific school districts, and for specific schools. We will track the progress of individual schools every single year, and we will intervene in districts and in schools that are still failing. Also see the Education Accountability Fact Sheet: http://www.ny.gov/governor/sos/fact_sheet6.html Health -- Fully fund the expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program -- providing affordable coverage for every single child in this State. -- Pass the Healthy Schools Act to take junk food out of schools. Ask Comptroller DiNapoli to help enforce the State's strong, but widely ignored, physical education requirements by including them in his regular school district audits. Postsecondary, Community Colleges and Economic Development -- Last year we focused on pre-school to grade twelve. This year, we must also look beyond high school to our colleges and universities. -- Over the next five years, hire 2,000 new full-time faculty members for SUNY and CUNY, including 250 eminent scholars – the type of professors whose research draws grants and collaboration from around the globe, and whose stature lifts entire campuses. -- Create an Innovation Fund for cutting-edge research at New York's public and private colleges, similar to the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. Supercharging cutting-edge academic research will also supercharge our innovation economy. -- Invest in our community colleges, which train New Yorkers for high-skilled jobs and serve as the gateway to four-year colleges. For the community college students who want to continue their education by transferring to four-year SUNY and CUNY schools, make the process simple and seamless, and give them full credit for the academic courses they have successfully completed. -- Move forward on the University of Buffalo's "2020" expansion as a centerpiece of our strategy to reinvigorate the economy of Western New York. When completed, the University's total student population will grow from 29,000 to almost 41,000. Over 7,000 students, faculty and staff will work and study on a new downtown campus for medicine and health sciences. UB will become an economic engine for Buffalo, and a flagship institution for a world class public university system. -- Create a flagship at the other end our state, as well. Bring together the University at Stony Brook, and the world renowned Brookhaven and Cold Spring Harbor laboratories. The result will be a peerless cross-disciplinary research engine in the areas of cancer, neurobiology, plant genetics and bioinformatics. The economic benefit for Long Island will be tremendous. The chance for New York to lead the world will be unparalleled. -- The finest private and public colleges and universities in America use the funds from permanent endowments to achieve excellence. If we are to join their ranks, we must do so as well. Higher education funding should no longer be a budgetary pawn or a yearly battle. It must be a permanent priority. Given the investments we must make and the sheer size of our higher education system, this endowment initially should be at least $4 billion, which would generate $200 million in operating funds each year. -- Unlock some of the value of the New York State Lottery, either by taking in private investment or looking at other financing alternatives. As we do this, we will assure that the State continues to regulate all lottery games, and that we continue to receive the more than $2 billion annually for K to 12 education that the lottery now provides. Today's endowment dollars will be a down payment on tomorrow's dreams. http://www.ny.gov/governor/keydocs/2008sos_speech.html Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions 2 Accountability--School Improvement 3 Assessment 2 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) 1 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Drugs/Alcohol 4 Attendance 1 Bilingual/ESL 1 Career/Technical Education 3 Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship 1 Choice of Schools 1 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools 1 Counseling/Guidance 1 Curriculum 2 Curriculum--Arts Education 1 Curriculum--Mathematics 2 Curriculum--Science 3 Economic/Workforce Development 22 Finance 4 Finance--Adequacy/Core Cost 3 Finance--Facilities 10 Finance--Funding Formulas 5 Finance--Lotteries 1 Finance--Resource Efficiency 2 Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures 17 Finance--Taxes/Revenues 8 Governance 2 Governance--Deregulation/Waivers/Home Rule 2 Governance--State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies 1 Health 13 High School 11 High School--Advanced Placement 1 High School--College Readiness 1 High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment 1 High School--Early Colleges/Middle Colleges 1 International Benchmarking 1 Leadership 2 Mentoring/Tutoring 1 No Child Left Behind 1 No Child Left Behind--Choice/Transfer 1 No Child Left Behind--School Support 2 Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses 2 P-16 or P-20 3 P-3 16 P-3 Child Care 1 P-3 Ensuring Quality 1 P-3 Kindergarten 5 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten 1 P-3 Preschool 6 Parent/Family 3 Postsecondary 8 Postsecondary Accountability 1 Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid 16 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees 6 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Prepd/College Savings Plans 1 Postsecondary Finance 5 Postsecondary Governance and Structures 3 Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges 5 Postsecondary Participation--Access 3 Postsecondary Students--Adults 4 Postsecondary Success--Completion 2 Reading/Literacy 2 Remediation (K-12) 2 Scheduling/School Calendar 3 Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs 2 School Safety 8 School/District Structure/Operations 2 School/District Structure/Operations--Transportation 1 Special Education 2 Standards 2 State Longitudinal Data Systems 1 STEM 8 Student Achievement 1 Student Achievement--Closing the Achievement Gap 1 Teaching Quality 5 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure 1 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay 13 Teaching Quality--Induction Programs and Mentoring 2 Teaching Quality--Preparation 2 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention 5 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--At-Risk Schools 1 Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract 1 Technology 4 Technology--Computer Skills 1 Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware 1 Technology--Internet Safety 1 308