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 Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs 2 School Safety 8 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 Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner's State of the State Address Early Learning -- Continue to support the efforts of the Vision 2015 group, an organization of business leaders, educators and state officials who are committed to a plan to make our schools the best in the world. In that effort, we will recommend an appropriation of $500,000 to continue to invest in early childhood education. Distance Education -- Make the virtual school a reality by investing more than $250,000 in that cutting-edge project. Finance -- Devote any cost savings through this effort to our early childhood education initiatives and other classroom programs. Cost savings were identified by the 18-member Leadership for Education Achievement in Delaware (or LEAD) Committee.) Health -- Get Lieutenant Governor Carney's Challenge program in every single elementary school in Delaware by this time next year. (In Delaware schools, nurses, teachers, and principals have been innovative in creating programs to address the growing problem of childhood obesity through this program -- now in 43% of elementary schools.) Kindergarten -- Continue funding for full-day kindergarten, a program that helps children get additional time in the classroom as they are building the foundation for their educational success. Budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes state funding for full-day kindergarten in 11 districts and nine charter schools Financial Aid -- Pass the Student Academic Reward scholarship program, or STAR. The STAR scholarship would enable high-achieving SEED graduates to continue on to a four-year, tuition-free bachelor's degree. (The SEED scholarship program offers free college tuition to any student who works hard, stays out of trouble, and gets good grades.) Safety -- Support the Departments of Education and Safety and Homeland Security in joining forces to protect our children. Beginning this spring, the Delaware State Police will begin offering fingerprinting and other safety-related tools to every fourth-grader in every elementary school in our state. Over time, every school-age child will participate in this program. http://governor.delaware.gov/speeches/2008_state_of_the_state.shtml#TopOfPage Missouri Governor Matt Blunt's State of the State Address Economic Development -- STEM -- Increase investment in math and science education. To ensure that the next generation enjoys even greater prosperity, we must provide our students with a world-class education in math, engineering, technology, and science. -- Invest $5 million to create 100 technologically-advanced classrooms and to equip 300 classrooms with advanced math and science curriculum. Exceptional Children -- Invest $5 million for the Thompson Center in Columbia, a world-class treatment and research facility we will help build right here in central Missouri. Combined, this funding will improve the lives of Missouri families struggling with autism. Extended School Days -- Invest $1.1 million for after-school programs, which help students learn, stay fit, stay safe, and stay out of trouble. Finance -- Over four years, we will have invested an additional $1.2 billion in education. -- Significantly increase funding at all levels – from pre-school to graduate school. Elementary and secondary schools receive an increase of $121 million, or more than 4 percent from last year. Missouri colleges and universities receive more than $54.2 million in direct funding, an increase of more than 6 percent. That includes funding to train more doctors, nurses, dentists, and pharmacists to meet the health care needs of Missourians. -- Stop excessive local increases in property tax by developing tax reform that includes truth in taxation and mandatory levy rollbacks. Financial Aid -- Continue to increase scholarship funding -- more than $25 million for A+ student scholarships, helping more than 20,000 Missourians attend community colleges, nearly doubling the program's funding since January of 2005. -- Quadruple investment in needs-based scholarships by allocating $100 million for Access Missouri scholarships. High School -- Invest three-quarters of a million dollars to train nearly 1,000 new Advanced Placement teachers and to help more than 6,000 Missouri students take Advanced Placement tests. Postsecondary -- Invest in better classrooms and labs at the higher education level. -- Make further investments such as $31 million for construction, renovation, and improvement of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at the University of Missouri, and another $15 million for the Pharmacy and Nursing Building at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Safety/Student Discipline -- Increase total funding to $1.5 million for Cyber Crime Task Forces grants so that law enforcement can catch predators before they harm a Missouri child. http://gov.missouri.gov/State_of_the_State_2008.pdf New Hampshire Governor John Lynch's State of the State Address Finance -- Give people a chance to vote and pass a constitutional amendment to allow us to direct more aid to communities with greater needs. it is not good policy to send the same base amount of education aid to every school district before we help the schools that really need it. Yet that is what the Supreme Court has said we must do. That type of approach does not reduce the inequity that exists between schools. It only widens disparities and maintains the status quo. Safety -- Enact the Online Child Safety Act to modernize our laws to protect our children from the threats of the 21st century. This Act would Increase penalties for enticing children over the Internet; toughen laws on repeat offenders; and require convicted sex offenders to register their email addresses and online identities. Postsecondary -- Help more of our young people go on to higher education. http://www.nh.gov/governor/speeches/documents/012308state.htm 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 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 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