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 Postsecondary Success--Completion 2 Reading/Literacy 2 Alabama Governor Bob Riley's State of the State Address Early Learning -- Pre-Kindergarten -- Invest an additional $20 million to triple the number of children who benefit from voluntary First Class pre-K. By providing affordable access, First Class fills the gap that has left working families with too few options. Ethics -- Ban double dipping in our two-year system, our four-year system, in K through 12 and in every state agency. Finance -- Pass a balanced budget that will not only continue to fund priority programs by protecting them from cuts but expand them. These priorities are: the Reading Initiative, Math, Science and Technology Initiative, and ACCESS distance learning program. Technology -- Create the Alabama Internet Initiative with a goal of ensuring that every home and every business has high-speed Internet access and will have it within the next four years. http://governorpress.alabama.gov/pr/sp-2008-02-06-sots2008.asp Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's State of the State Address Early Learning -- Better utilize the existing early childhood programs that already serve 80% of our four-year-olds…by providing financial incentives for them to expand and improve their educational content. Finance -- Pass an honest balanced budget that recognizes we won't be able to increase K-12 spending nearly that much this session (last several years saw an average increase of $130 million per year for K-12 schools). -- Cannot afford continued, large increases in funding higher education this year. -- Fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. -- Fund education reforms so we can get better results for the money we spend. Find ways to be more efficient and save money. High School -- Continue to support the state superintendent's proposal to redesign high school, to make it more rigorous and especially more relevant to kids who are not on a path to college, as a way to attack our unacceptably high dropout rate. Reading -- Fund the screening of every first grader for dyslexia and other learning disabilities and get them treatment. Teaching Quality -- Compensation: Increase the salaries of teachers with more than 25 years experience. -- Fund mentoring/induction: Give beginning teachers more support as they learn to manage a classroom full of kids. Pay each mentor an extra $1000 for this valuable service. http://www.governorbarbour.com/speeches/2008SOS.htm 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