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 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 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 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 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 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 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