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 Remediation (K-12) 2 Scheduling/School Calendar 3 Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's State of the Commonwealth Address Finance -- Facilities -- Kindergarten -- Extended Learning -- Start with education and invest in strategies that work. Commit a record $223 million more to support public schools. -- Make significant increases in early education grants, all-day kindergarten programs, and extended learning time. -- Give the 275,000 students and faculty in our public colleges and universities the quality labs, lecture halls and dormitories they deserve. -- Support these budget initiatives and pass the higher ed bond bill. -- Give our cities and towns the tools they need to keep property taxes down. Governance -- Advance the Readiness Project, a 10-year strategic plan for the future of education in the Commonwealth. This plan creates an Executive Office of Education consisting of Early Education and Care (existing), Elementary and Secondary Education (new name for the existing Department of Education) and Higher Education (new department that will include personnel now staffing the Board of Higher Education). Establishes a Secretary of Education. Maintains existing boards -- with two additional members each. Provides the governor with authority to appoint the chair of the UMass board. -- The five objectives of the Readiness Project [Early Learning -- Teaching Quality -- Access -- High School--Transitions -- P-16 -- Student Support]: 1. Provide every child with the opportunity to enter public school ready to learn. 2. Provide every student with outstanding and highly qualified teachers who are respected professionals recruited from among the best and the brightest in the Commonwealth. 3. Provide every student with the support necessary to meet the state's high standards and high expectations. 4. Provide the support and infrastructure needed to ensure the opportunity for every student to have an accessible, affordable and globally competitive higher education. 5. Provide an education system that enables every student to transition successfully from high school to higher education, to the work force ready to succeed and to be a productive, engaged and contributing citizen. http://www.mass.gov/Agov3/video/2008-01-24_sotc.rtf 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 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