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 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 Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's State of the State Address Drugs/Alcohol -- Direct that substance abuse dollars be targeted so that the families of children in the child protective system are first in line for treatment and services. Early Learning -- Implement the voter-approved initiative aimed at early childhood. Beginning with the youngest children, focus on preschool and quality child care, so that children are fully prepared for the all-day kindergarten we now provide. English Language Learners -- 15 percent of students come from families that do not speak English. These students must learn to read, write and speak in English as soon as possible. I put this challenge to legislative leadership: take our tax dollars out of court and put them back in the classroom, where they belong. Health --Implement KidsShare to allow families – who are currently shut out of the health care system – to buy health insurance for their children at the parents' cost, with no subsidy from the state's general fund. -- Direct the Department of Administration to find ways for the State Health Insurance plan to allow all young adults – up to the age of 25 – to continue coverage on their parents' insurance, so long as this can be done in a way that is cost-neutral to taxpayers. High School -- Look at everything – including AIMS – to make sure we're testing for the right things, at the right times, and for the right reasons. Now that we've changed the graduation standards, tests need to be changed to match. -- Make reasonable alternatives available for students who can't succeed in a regular classroom (An Arizona diploma should demonstrate that a student is fully prepared for higher education, whether in a technical or vocational setting, a community college, or a university.) -- Implement strong support for students to meet the higher expectations; reward students when they succeed. -- Create the Centennial Scholars program to guarantee free tuition at Arizona's community colleges or universities for any student who stays out of trouble and maintains at least a "B" average during high school (beginning with the eighth graders of today who are the high school class of 2012 – Arizona's centennial class, and with all the classes that follow). -- Raise the high-school dropout age to 18. Teaching Quality -- Sustain a higher-quality corps of math and science teachers by expanding teacher loan forgiveness, scholarships, and incentives. Tuition -- For students who begin college at an Arizona university, prohibit raising his or her tuition for four years. Postsecondary Completion -- Double the number of bachelor's degrees issued by state universities by 2020. Provide support to universities to increase graduation rates, retain more students, create more options for students in rural areas, enroll more first-generation students, and boost the number of students coming from community colleges. http://www.governor.state.az.us/dms/upload/GS_2008%20SOS%20Address.pdf California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's State of the State Address Economic Development -- Bring approximately 20,000 new engineers into California's workforce over the next decade by expanding existing educational programs and building new partnerships between our schools, the military and the private sector. Accountability -- California will be the first state to use the powers given under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act to turn challenged districts around. The Governor's proposal includes allocating a higher percentage of NCLB funds in districts that need the greatest assistance and intervention.  -- Implement reforms that value local control and assist school districts based on their needs. The problems driving underachievement in each school district are different, so a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. In determining the state's response, the administration has used a "differentiated assistance" model to analyze each district individually and assign it the most appropriate intervention to improve student achievement and progress.  Deregulation -- High-performing schools and districts have the opportunity to apply to the State Board of Education for waivers from provisions of the Education Code.  Waivers granted by the State Board of Education will give these schools and districts flexibility to budget and operate in ways that continue to improve student achievement. Teaching Quality -- Take immediate actions to improve the quality and accessibility of information available to parents, educators and policymakers and address critical shortages of teachers in California's classrooms.  http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/print-version/press-release/8444/ Colorado Governor Bill Ritter's State of the State Address Economic Development -- Use the new Jobs Cabinet to align Colorado's economic-development strategies, education programs and regional workforce needs, producing a high-quality, 21st century labor force. -- Double the production of technical certificates and college degrees over the next 10 years. To do that, we need our higher ed systems pulling in the same direction, not competing against each other. Finance -- Allocate $59.5 million for postsecondary education, an 8 percent increase to higher-ed funding. And that follows a $52 million, 7.5 percent increase the year before. Health -- Enroll 17,000 more eligible children into CHP+, and undertake major efforts to enroll more eligible families in Medicaid by simplifying, streamlining and modernizing the application and administrative processes. -- Fully fund the Childhood Immunization Information System. P-16 -- Cut the drop-out rate in half within 10 years. -- Align content standards for pre-school through high school with college admission standards (the "Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids") This will take unprecedented collaboration from the Departments of Education and Higher Education to establish new policies that measure actual student learning and proficiency and prepare all Colorado kids for college or a career in the 21st century. -- Move forward on recommendations from Governor Ritter's P-20 Education Coordinating Council: + Offer full-day kindergarten to 22,000 more children over five years, eliminating the current 3,000-child waiting list for the Colorado Pre-School Program + Create a Colorado Counselor Corps that would deploy 70 guidance counselors into targeted middle and high schools to keep students in school and get them ready for college. Safety --Launch the new School Safety Resource Center. The Department of Public Safety will be identifying sites around Colorado to conduct vulnerability assessments, train faculty and students, and provide additional violence-prevention measures to keep students and teachers safe. Work with local educators and prevention groups to create individually tailored safety plans. -- Protect those who can't protect themselves -- including foster children and those with severe developmental disabilities by requesting funding (nearly $500,000) to increase the number of employees who monitor county foster care programs, from just one -- for the entire state -- to seven. Also, request $10.6 million for staffing, facilities and services for people with developmental disabilities. Student Achievement -- Cut the existing achievement gap separating poor and minority students from more affluent and white students of about 30 percentage points to half (within 10 years). http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1199955793227&pagename=GovRitter%2FGOVRLayout Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell's State of the State Address Child Care/Early Learning -- Provide the Department of Public Health with five additional staff to increase both the number and frequency of inspections of child care facilities Economic/Workforce Development -- Provide $800,000 in additional funding for nursing scholarships and teaching at UConn, our state universities, and community-technical colleges. -- Provide $300,000 for an engineering loan reimbursement program to engineers who work in our State. -- Establish an exciting "Green Collar" Jobs program at our vo-tech schools to train students in energy efficient building, construction and retrofit work. Finance -- Advocate for enactment of a property tax cap. -- Fund youth violence prevention programs and substance abuse counselors. Health -- Fully implement the initiative to enroll children in HUSKY B at birth – and work with schools to identify low-income families for program eligibility.  Safety -- Roll back curfew times, increase on-the-road training requirements and put stiff penalties in place for driving under the influence and violating laws regarding carrying passengers, talking on cell phones, text messaging, speeding and racing. We've lost too many of our young people to tragic accidents. Tuition/Fees -- Waive college tuition at all state colleges for spouses and children of service members killed in action. http://www.ct.gov/governorrell/cwp/view.asp?Q=405310&A=3293 Florida Governor Charlie Crist's State of the State Address Economic Development -- Fuel Florida's Innovation Incentive Program to bring cutting-edge, world-class research centers to the state. These centers are economic catalysts that drive discovery and collaboration, diversify our economy and bring high-wage, high-skill, secure jobs to Florida. Health -- Target $60.6 million toward enrolling more than 46,000 additional children in the KidCare program. -- Address obesity. Charge the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness with developing a state plan to promote physical fitness and sound nutrition. Challenge elementary students and schools to do even more by participating in the Governor's Fitness Challenge. Teaching Quality--Compensation -- Diversified Pay -- Fully fund teacher bonuses for those who improve student achievement and who work diligently to improve their teaching skills through national peer review. Postsecondary Education -- Continue to invest in higher education (budget provides for more than $5 billion for higher education, an increase over last year.) http://www.flgov.com/pdfs/2008sos.pdf Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue's State of the State Address Early Learning -- Allocate an additional $6.4 million in lottery funds to bring the total number of Pre-K slots up to 79,000. (The first Pre-K class enters college this fall.) Economic Development -- Invest $40 million for venture capital to commercialize research in areas like biosciences and medicine coming out of our universities. Deregulation -- Continue to link flexibility with accountability. Follow through on the work of the Investing in Educational Excellence (IE2) task force by offering new options in exchange for performance.  Grant public schools some of the flexibility that charter schools enjoy through new contracts between the state and the local school systems. These contracts would require clear and measurable accountability standards, and would link flexibility with student achievement.  Finance -- Eliminate the state portion of property tax. -- Invest $65 million in funding two priority needs for schools – transportation (school buses) and 21st century technology.     Parent Involvement -- Institute the "VIP Recruiter" program – Very Important Parent Recruiters.  Invest $14.25 million, targeting our schools with the poorest attendance rates.  Simply put, a child's attendance record is a direct result of parental involvement.  These recruiters will help parents understand the education system, to help them make a connection with their child's teachers.  They will learn how and why to be supportive of their child's education.  Teacher compensation -- Continue to issue the $100 Classroom Gift Card to teachers.  http://gov.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,78006749_102386494_103230743,00.html Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle's State of the State Address Economic Development -- Encourage the state retirement fund to allocate $100 million to invest in the creative ideas and talents of Hawai'i's companies and people. -- Stress STEM education because it helps equip graduates with the analytical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork skills necessary for any high-quality job of the 21st century. Governance -- Postsecondary -- Create a Commission on Higher Education made up of the presidents of Hawai'i's major universities, members of the community and business leaders. This Commission will give us the opportunity to embrace new ideas and new ways of using federal and state education dollars. Technology, Creative Arts -- Start Creative Academies, modeled after the successful STEM Academies, to nurture and support the many talents of Hawai'i's keiki. These academies would focus on animation, digital media, game development and writing and publishing in elementary through high school. Tuition/Fees -- Pass tax deductions of up to $20,000 a year for parents or other family members saving for a child's college education. http://hawaii.gov/gov/leg/2008-session/state-of-the-state/STATE%20OF%20THE%20STATE%20ADDRESS%202008.pdf Iowa Governor Chet Culver's State of the State Address Early Learning -- Expand early childhood education so we can meet our goal of offering it statewide by 2010. Economic/Workforce Development -- Create a $5 million dollar science, technology, engineering, and math – or STEM – Center at the University of Northern Iowa. This will help us double the number of math and science teachers in our public schools and make sure every high school graduate is ready for the jobs of the future. Financial Aid -- Expand the needs-based All-Iowa Opportunity Scholarship. Health -- Establish a minimum standard for physical activity in our schools. -- Partner with the American Diabetes Association and other groups to create a statewide focus on wellness for our children. -- Take the steps necessary to replace unhealthy food choices in our schools. We need statewide effort to promote healthier school meals, and better options when it comes to vending machines. -- Meet the obligation we have to the most vulnerable among us, our uninsured children. Expand health care to 7,500 more kids. Postsecondary -- Maintain the funding levels for community colleges, regents' institutions and private colleges. -- Fully fund our successful community college level workforce training program, known as ACE. Standards/Curriculum -- Raise the bar and expect more from our students in the classroom. Do whatever it takes to institute Iowa's new Model Core Curriculum statewide by 2010. Our goal is simple, to teach our kids to "love to learn", to love to learn more chemistry, more physics, more algebra, and more trigonometry. -- Make sure that all Iowa students receive the same educational opportunities, regardless of geography, family income, or school district. Teacher Compensation -- Pay our teachers what they deserve, and do whatever it takes to bring them to the national average in teacher pay. http://www.governor.iowa.gov/administration/speeches/080115-condition-of-the-state.pdf Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius' State of the State Address Early Learning -- Extend the state's network of quality early learning opportunities for children during their most formative years. -- Make sure that more Kansas children have a successful start by funding pre-natal care and newborn screening, Parents as Teachers, Early Head Start and quality child care. -- Provide a new Early Childhood Block Grant, driven by research-based programming and accountability measures, focused on at-risk children and under-served areas. -- Fund all-day kindergarten. Economic Development -- Open centers at Colby Community College and Neosho Community College, concentrating on attracting investment, job growth, and business development to our rural areas. Finance -- Extend the current three-year, billion-dollar school finance plan adopted in 2006. Financial Aid -- Invest significant new state resources proposed for post-secondary education, to lower the costs for parents, students and Kansas families. Provide an additional $3 million in scholarship money to ensure that 2,000 more students can afford the opportunity to compete in our new innovation economy. High School -- Fund the Kansas Academy of Math and Science -- to open in 2009 at Fort Hays State University -- to ensure that talented young Kansans have the opportunity to be the next generation of world-class innovators. Teacher Recruitment -- Provide 1 million for teaching scholarships in math, science and technology. http://www.kansascity.com/static/pdfs/2008_sos.pdf Kentucky Goveronor Steve Beshear's State of the Commonwealth Address and Inaugural Address Economic Development -- Investing more in the education of our people to better prepare them to compete in the global economy; creating more opportunities by attracting better paying jobs throughout Kentucky, in industries that promise long-term growth not just for today's workers but also for tomorrow's. -- Better utilize our research institutions to encourage the growth of the industries of the future. Financial Aid, Workforce Training -- Increase college aid and job training. High School -- Send colleges and universities better prepared students. http://governor.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2113F73E-F17B-4714-A589-A81A97236514/0/20080114StateoftheCommonwealth.pdf Maine Governor Jon E. Baldacci's State of the State Address Early Learning -- It's my goal that children start school ready to learn, and graduate from college ready and able to succeed here in Maine. -- Continue to work with more than 200 Maine business and community leaders to transform the Children's Cabinet Task Force on Early Childhood into a Children's Growth Council. Economic Development -- Keep more of our home-grown graduates here, and open the door of opportunity for the next generation of Maine entrepreneurs and leaders. Finance -- By the end of next year we will have invested more than $1 billion new State dollars in local education. -- Bring together three of the largest purchasers of health care in the State for a new initiative to save taxpayer money and provide better care to consumers. The Maine State Employees Health Commission, the University of Maine System and the Maine Education Association will join forces and put their enormous buying power to work to lower prescription drug costs. Financial Aid -- The Alfond College Challenge provides a $500 dollar education grant to every child born in Maine that will help them start a college savings account. It began last week in Augusta and will expand statewide in 2009. Working through the Finance Authority of Maine and in cooperation with Maine's hospitals, families in this State will have been given a head start on higher education. School Districts -- We are on our way to a new structure that will better serve our people. It will save taxpayers money and provide a better education for our children. Legislation introduced this year and already approved by the Education Committee will further strengthen the new law (that law reduces the number of school administrative units from 290 to 80.) Continue with the work of reducing the number of school administrative units. http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Gov+News&id=48517&v=Article-2006 Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's State of the State Address Career and Technical Education -- Rededicate ourselves to reducing our drop-out rate with better career and technical programs available to high schools in every district where kids want them.  Drugs, Alcohol -- Increase the availability of drug treatment programs, as well as community based programs like Operation Safe Kids.  Economic/Workforce Development -- Develop the science, technology and public education that it will take to combat climate change and improve energy conservation and energy efficiency and to make Maryland a leader in the development of renewable energy and green building techniques of all kinds. -- Build a new system for educating our adults and harnessing the potential of our entire workforce.  Every single person matters.  -- Provide the little bit of help and training needed by Marylanders with disabilities who are talented and hardworking and want to get into the workforce.   -- Better align the education needs of our adults with the workforce needs of our employers and bring our adult education system into the 21st Century.  Leadership -- Find better ways to recruit great principals to our most challenged schools. Teaching Quality -- Do a better job of listening to our teachers in a regular systematic way, so that we are constantly improving the learning process and improving the working conditions in our classrooms that are so very essential to recruiting and retaining the highest quality teachers we possibly can for our kids.  STEM -- Find better ways to improve outcomes in science, technology and engineering and math.  Tuition/Fees -- Hold the line against the rising cost of college tuition. http://www.gov.state.md.us/speeches/080123.html Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's State of the State Address Focus on four things: 1) A job for every worker. 2) Affordable health care for every family. 3) Safe places to live and work for all of us. 4) Quality education for our citizens - kids and adults. Accountability -- Give our state superintendent broader authority to close schools that consistently fail to meet academic goals. -- Reward colleges and universities when their students complete degrees. Also reward them when they create opportunity for low-income students, and when they find ways to turn research ideas into businesses. Invest more in higher education and expect more in return. Early Learning Significantly expand early childhood education. Economic/Workforce Development -- Create Centers of Excellence across the state to bring alternative energy companies and Michigan universities together to create new products and new jobs. -- Double the number of college graduates to give Michigan the best-educated workforce in the nation. To reach that goal, make progress throughout our education system, from preschool to grad school to on-the-job training. -- Invest more in training for adults already in the workforce. This past year, we took a giant step forward in workforce training when we launched the No Worker Left Behind initiative. Our goal is to give 100,000 workers displaced by changes in our economy access to college education and other training that prepares them for specific high demand jobs. We're offering free tuition for training in areas of need to the first 100,000 workers who sign up. Unfortunately, the huge demand for No Worker Left Behind will soon exhaust the federal funds used to pay for this program. That means Michigan residents who want new skills are on waiting lists when they could be on payrolls. The budget I propose next week will ensure that the thousands who need training are able to get it this year. Finance -- Increase our investment in our K-12 schools and significantly expand early childhood education. Financial Aid -- Expand the vision of the Kalamazoo Promise to communities across our state. (In Kalamazoo, anonymous donors promised full college tuition for every high school graduate.) Tutoring/Mentoring -- Recruiting 10,000 more mentors for kids. High School -- Establish a 21st Century Schools Fund to replace large impersonal high schools that fail, with smaller schools that use firm discipline and strong personal relationships to help students reach high expectations. Free from red tape and bureaucracy, these schools will deploy the new three Rs - rigor, relevance and relationships - to keep students in high school and then get them to college or technical training. Our 21st Century Schools Fund will give school districts the resources they need to create high schools that work. A pioneering group of schools in Michigan is showing us today there is a better way. -- Create 100 more early college high schools to help ensure every student in Michigan leaves high school with the skills it takes to succeed in college and the work place. In the past year, we created six early college high schools, which each partner with a major hospital in our state and a college or university. -- Raise the dropout age to 18. Kindergarten -- Ask all of our school districts to begin offering full day kindergarten. http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168--184537--,00.html 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 Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's State of the State Address High School, Economic/Workforce Development -- Stop thinking about high school as an end in itself. Whether through college or technical training, our young people must be brought up with the expectation that they need to continue their education beyond high school. -- Create the Seniors to Sophomores to give every twelfth grader who meets the academic requirements a choice of spending their senior year in their home high school, or spending it on a University System of Ohio campus. Tuition for the year will be free. The goal is to raise the aspirations of all students, to challenge students who might feel disengaged from their high school studies, and to help students who want to accelerate their college education. -- Work to ensure that all our schools can meet the needs of all our students in this globally competitive environment by creating learning environments that foster and nurture creativity, innovation, and global competency. Six core principles will guide our efforts to achieve that vision. First, we cannot address our education challenges without strengthening our commitment to public education. Second, a modern education must be directly linked to economic prosperity. Ohio cannot thrive without understanding that world class schools will produce a talented workforce, and a talented workforce will attract and create jobs. Third, we need to identify the great strengths of our schools. There are features in our education system that the rest of the world seeks to emulate, and we must build on these triumphs. We excel internationally in our ability to foster creativity and innovation. These skills fuel a lifetime of success, especially in an evolving global economy. Our schools must teach students to think past the limits of what's been done, and imagine what could be done. Fourth, our best teachers can show us what works best in the classroom. We need to consult them and follow their lead. Great teachers can be a resource not only for their students but for their fellow educators. We should support these teachers by giving them the freedom to stay in the classroom and still be rewarded for sharing their expertise with their peers. We lose a lot of new teachers – as many as half of all new teachers leave the profession in the first 5 years – but we can help keep these talented people by giving them better access to senior colleagues. Fifth, we must strive to develop a specific, personalized education program that identifies how each individual student learns and use the teaching methods appropriate to that student's needs and abilities. And sixth, testing and assessment will continue to answer accountability questions. But their most important role will be to guide personalized and individualized education through a comprehensive and ongoing understanding of a student's capabilities and weaknesses and growth in the educational process. I will be guided by these principles as I draft my plan not only for funding, but also for reforming our schools. Governance -- Ensure, like higher education, that there is a direct line of responsibility and accountability in K through 12 education -- so that elected and appointed leaders are working together to strengthen education in Ohio. (In 2007, the legislature gave the Governor authority to appoint the Chancellor of Higher Education.) -- Create a new position: the director of the Department of Education. This office would be appointed by the governor, subject to approval by the Senate. The director would have oversight over all Department of Education efforts. The existing structure, including the State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Schools, would remain in place in advisory and additional roles as determined by the director. Postsecondary Access -- Our Chancellor of Higher Education is required to construct a ten-year plan for Ohio's colleges and universities. This plan will raise the quality of all our academic programs, and will guarantee that anyone who is prepared and qualified will be able to afford to go. We will do this by operating creatively and efficiently, building centers of excellence, and increasing the amount of funds we raise publicly and privately for financial aid. -- Build a system that is flexible enough to serve the potential students we are missing. Provide Ohioans what they need to succeed in the 21st century – access to high-quality, affordable associate and bachelor's degrees. The ten-year plan for the University System of Ohio will guarantee that a high quality associate and bachelor's degree in the academic fields necessary to land a good job will be available on a campus within thirty miles of every Ohioan. For students seeking a bachelor's degree, Ohio is now among the ten most expensive states. Under our plan, every Ohioan will have access to a high-quality bachelor's degree that will rank among the ten least expensive in the nation. http://governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=799 Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry's State of the State Address Economic/Workforce Development -- Continue funding the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center created last year, making Oklahoma a global leader in biofuels and bioenergy research by capitalizing on the cutting-edge work being conducted at Oklahoma University, Oklahoma State University and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. -- Ensure a permanent funding mechanism so the Opportunity Fund and EDGE Research Endowment can fund the research that will create high-tech, good-paying jobs for a diversified, dynamic Oklahoma (goal is create a $1 billion fund). -- Build on the Oklahoma Creativity Project, which seeks to enhance both the cultural landscape and the entrepreneurial economy of Oklahoma. Health -- Pass legislation to double the physical education requirement to 120 minutes each week. High School -- Put the resources in place to help students sort through those issues that lead them to believe that quitting school is the only option and see them complete high school. -- Create a graduation coach program so every student can succeed. Postsecondary -- Continue that momentum in higher education by fully funding endowed chairs and reducing their backlog in our colleges and universities. Safety -- Continue suipport for the CLASS Task Force to review security at college and CareerTech campuses. School Year -- Adopt the recommendations of Superintendent Sandy Garrett and the Time Reform Task Force and expand the school year by five days. Teacher Compensation -- Finish meeting the commitment to a five-year plan to raise teacher pay to match the regional average by this year. http://www.governor.state.ok.us/stateofthestate2008.php Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr.'s State of the State Address Assessment -- Kids are given way too many standardized tests, with little information flowing back. Let's find a way to allow teachers to do what they do best: teach. Continuing Education -- Aspire to produce true lifelong learners. Economic Development, Partnerships -- Reach beyond the fundamentals of education. Be more creative, innovative and flexible in adapting to the frequent changes in the labor market. Our approach to education, and life, must be a partnership with family, community and business. Finance -- Make historic investments in education. But investment must be coupled with new ideas and reform. We must raise standards, be more imaginative, re-evaluate how we test students and be realistic about our 21st Century workforce needs. Leadership -- Bolster principals with the accountability and responsibility they need to manage their schools. Principals should be given the ability to reward the good teachers and replace the bad ones. They need the tools to assess accurately how students in their schools are faring. Parental Involvement -- Encourage parents to reach higher with our kids. Spend more time with them and be a part of their education. Teachers cannot do it alone. We must read with them. Study with them, or attend Back to School Night. Scheduling/School Calendar -- Do not allow students, buildings and teachers to sit idle for three months every year. We don't have a good way to provide year-round contracts to our teachers: let's do it by beginning with math and science. We don't have good options for our kids to remediate or accelerate in their studies during the summer months: let's find them. We aren't ensuring that our students are prepared to meet the workforce needs of tomorrow: let's get it done. Teaching Quality -- Compensation: Continue our current rate of increasing compensation over the next four years so that, for the first time ever, Utah can surpass the national average. -- Preparation/Recruitment: Increase the number of educators being trained in our colleges. Right now 2,300 teachers graduate annually. In four years we can, and should, have 1,000 more teachers coming out of our colleges every year to teach in our classrooms. http://www.utah.gov/governor/news/2008/news_01_22_08.html Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's State of the Commonwealth Address Early Learning -- Expand the Virginia Preschool Initiative from 13,000 to nearly 20,000 children will give a better start to those children who need it most. Expansion will be based on Start Strong Council, including education experts, business leaders, children's advocates, local officials, and legislators of both parties and draws on the experiences of the existing pre-k program, the pilot projects and last fall's report by the JLARC.    -- Increase state support for cities and counties offering pre-k programs, make more at-risk students eligible and utilize high-quality private providers so that more money can be spent on education, instead of bricks and mortar. -- Enhance quality and accountability, build collaboration among public, private and Head Start programs, and strengthen the early childhood workforce. Finance, Standards, At-Risk -- Ensure that the gains made in early education are maintained by fully funding the rebenchmarking of the Standards of Quality for K-12 and maintaining the "At Risk" monies that the General Assembly has traditionally approved. Teacher Compensation -- Continue to fund the progress made in raising teachers' salaries toward the national average by funding the state share of a 3.5% pay increase for teachers and other instructional staff effective July 1, 2009.  Postsecondary and Economic Development -- Encourage high school graduates to continue their education at universities, four year colleges, career and technical schools, and community colleges by giving those institutions what they need to serve students who will ultimately become the workforce driving Virginia's economic engine. -- Make significant new investments in higher education to help create high-tech jobs through research and innovation.  This is particularly important at a time when job growth is slowing.  Proposing a $1.6 billion bond package to continue the acceleration of top notch higher education system. This investment, to be phased in over the next 5 to 7 years, will provide facilities across the Commonwealth for researchers to develop new, cutting-edge technologies and turn them into commercial assets. The bond package centers largely on engineering, science, business, and health professions.  It will support higher education system's continuing efforts to build a more talented workforce that is fully prepared to compete in a global economy.  Beginning these needed projects now will be less costly than in future years, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.  And the bond package fits well within our conservative debt service guidelines. -- Supplement these capital projects by operational funds for increased base adequacy funding, more financial aid, and an expanded focus on competitive research opportunities. -- Place the main responsibility for workforce development in the Virginia Community College System. http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/Speeches/2008/SOTC.cfm Washington Governor Chris Gregoire's State of the State Address Career-Technical -- Continue to provide the opportunity for non-college-bound students to flourish by connecting motivated high-school kids to the trades. Health -- Cover all children with health insurance by 2010. Safety/Student Discipline -- Improve safety on college campuses. Economic Development -- Create a world-class, learner-focused, seamless education system that gives kids a chance to get a good job. Financial Aid -- Continue to make college more affordable by increasing the number of scholarships, and offering financial aid to more students. Make sure every young person in Washington knows that if they work hard, they will have the chance to compete with anyone, anywhere in the world, for jobs in the new global economy found right here in Washington. Education and Training -- Develop a program in which workers can invest in an account, with matching employer contributions, for further education and training. Teaching Quality -- Continue investment in teacher-excellence through support for increasing the number of teachers who attain national certification. A record number will go through the certification process this year, and next year we expect a near doubling of national certified teachers. http://www.governor.wa.gov/speeches/speech-view.asp?SpeechSeq=85 West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin's State of the State Address Accountability -- Revoke the driver's licenses of students who are found to have committed serious offenses like assaulting a teacher or fellow student or bringing a dangerous weapon to school, and add a requirement that in order to obtain and keep a driver's license between the ages of 16 and 18, you must receive passing grades. Drugs, Alcohol -- Build upon the current success of Prevention Resource Officer Program, a cooperative effort between schools and law enforcement designed to put officers in schools to teach students about drug and safety issues and to recognize potential danger, prevent violence and respond to dangerous situations. Partner with local police and sheriff's departments to put Prevention Resource Officers in more schools in every county. Economic/Workforce Development -- Target higher education and work force development investments toward meeting the needs of the state's growing and emerging industries by creating "Bucks for Jobs." West Virginia must be a player in the 21st century world economy, and to do so we need to develop more intellectual and financial capital. "Bucks for Jobs" will achieve both these goals by leveraging smart, interconnected investments in economic development, higher education and work force training. A "Bucks for Brains" initiative, using one-time surplus monies, will create a $50 million endowment fund for our two research universities, WVU and Marshall, to stimulate world-class research and development and attract venture capital, which will eventually lead to jobs in emerging high-tech, high-wage industries. The state's investment will be matched, dollar for dollar, by private donations, resulting in sizable funds that will strengthen our most-promising research departments – ultimately leading to business spinoffs, new patents and job creation. Make sure that the money we're already spending on work force training is being accessed by the businesses that need it and that all businesses in our state know about "Training Bucks" and how to get them. -- Make a major investment in the development of two state-of-the-art advanced technical centers. These centers will offer training that is specialized to meet the needs of existing businesses as well as those new businesses that we are now attracting to the state, and they will collaborate directly with industry to design and deliver high-quality instruction. -- Invest in existing programs at community and technical colleges to fill the growing need for workers in allied health fields (from nurses to dental assistants, emergency medical technicians, pharmacy workers and surgery technicians). This investment will result in approximately 1,000 new allied health field graduates every year in West Virginia beginning in 2010. -- Ask the Promise Scholarship board to develop a rule requiring recipients to work in West Virginia following graduation as a condition of not having to pay back the Promise Scholarship. -- Add "payback" requirements for those new state employees who receive additional state-paid training, such as our State Police officers, pilots, engineers and others. Too often, we are spending state dollars to provide training for these new employees only to have them then leave us for other job opportunities outside of state government once their training is complete. Health -- Develop in our schools Kids First, a kindergarten health screening program. Through the use of administrative funds from the State Children's Health Insurance Program, West Virginia will establish a health services initiative that is the first in the nation to ensure every uninsured child entering kindergarten has a wellness screening prior to starting school. Teacher Compensation -- Require all of our counties to use 100 percent of the extra School Aid Formula money for classroom teachers' salaries. Safety/Student Discipline -- Improve the environment that our classroom teachers currently work in and our children currently learn in. The 21st Century Jobs Cabinet has been asked to develop the "West Virginia Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Learning." The Bill of Rights will set standards both for the rights and responsibilities of students while in school and the authority of teachers to protect those rights and enforce those responsibilities. -- Go a step further with the state's requirement that districts have anti-bullying plans in place. Establish a commission to thoroughly review the anti-bullying practices of our schools and recommend the best ways to expand our efforts to identify and stop dangerous and bullying behavior before it becomes a threat, as well as how to best deal with disruptive students during the school day. http://www.wvgov.org/SoS2008/ManchinSOS010908.pdf Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's State of the State Address Economic Development -- Build an educated workforce ready to compete around the world. Financial Aid -- Continue to make college affordable by continuing to help students know that if they do their part there will be an opportunity in higher education for them. Continue to advance the Wisconsin Covenant. For students who are willing to work hard, play by the rules, and make the grade, there will be an opportunity in higher education for them. Health -- Launch BadgerCare Plus and fulfill our moral obligation to every child in this state by providing every single child the health care they need at a price their family can afford. -- Help families who struggle with autism by requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of autism treatment.  High School -- Pass legislation to make a third year of math and a third year of science mandatory for high school graduation. Teacher Compensation -- Invest in a compensation system that rewards teachers who take on the hardest assignments, who advance their skills, and who help their students achieve success. http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail_print.asp?prid=3122&locid=19 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