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 Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's State of the State Address Finance -- Shaping a three-year funding plan to enable schools to focus on innovation and accountability to see superior results. We're asking lawmakers to pass a new K-12 funding plan early this year. This is a significant investment that is needed to increase the base student allocation, district cost factors and intensive needs students. It includes $100 million in school construction and deferred maintenance. -- Three-year Education Plan invests more than a billion dollars each year. We must forward-fund education, letting schools plan ahead. We must stop pink-slipping teachers, and then struggle to recruit and retain them the next year. -- Put $7 billion dollars into the Permanent Fund, Constitutional Budget Reserve, the Education Fund and PERS/TRS debt relief. Health -- Combat alcohol, abuse and suicide through Youth Wellness Initiatives. -- Educate kids about healthy eating and physical activities. High School -- Focus on foundational skills needed in the "real-world" workplace and in college. -- It's a privileged obligation we have to "open education doors." Every child, of every ability, is to be cherished and loved and taught. Every child provides this world hope. They are the most beautiful ingredient in our sometimes muddied up world. Stepping through "the door" is about more than passing a standardized test. We need kids prepared to pass life's tests – like getting a job and valuing a strong work ethic. Workforce Training and Postsecondary -- Boost job training and University options. Proposing more than $10 million in new funding for apprenticeship programs, expansion of construction, engineering and health care degrees to meet demands. It's about results and getting kids excited about their future – whether it is college, trade school or military. -- Make attending Alaska's universities and trade schools a reality for more Alaskans through merit scholarships. http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=829 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 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 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 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