2009 State of the State Addresses Education-Related Proposals by Issue

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2009 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 9 Accountability--Rewards 1 Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions 1 Accountability--School Improvement 1 Assessment 4 Assessment--College Entrance Exams 1 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) 8 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education 1 Bilingual/ESL 2 Business Involvement 19 Career/Technical Education 10 Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's State of the State Address Accountability -- Hold schools accountable. -- Focus on streamlined operations. Business Involvement, Economic/Workforce Development, Finance -- Need responsible resource development – including drilling, mining, timber and tourism – which will lead to more jobs. -- Propose the Alaska Legacy Plan. I issued an administrative order this week calling for the state's first comprehensive economic strategy. Need to involve business leaders, local officials, and other stakeholders in this strategic action plan for private sector and government to stimulate and diversify the economy. Career/Technical Education, Economic/Workforce Development -- Focus on vo-tech and workforce development. Early Learning -- Focus on early learning. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance -- Build a gas line. Alaska's revenue, careers and our ability to diversify our economy – all hinge on the success of this great undertaking. I assure you: The line will be built. Federal, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Use the state's share of federal funds and Congress' stimulus package for vital needs-- such as infrastructure for our gas pipeline and the Kodiak Launch Facility. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Reduce spending by seven percent from last year's expenditures. Unless the price of a barrel of oil dramatically increases soon, the state faces a potential revenue shortfall in excess of a billion dollars this year. -- Freeze hiring, exempting public safety, and restrict non-essential purchases. These actions reduce the draw on savings as we monitor revenue for the rest of 2009. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, School Districts -- Take the next step in our three-year education plan to offer every child the opportunity to learn and work and succeed. -- Fully forward-fund all our school districts with more than a billion dollars. Postsecondary -- Focus on an enhanced University. Special Education -- Encourage opportunities for students with special needs. http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1610 Florida Governor Charlie Crist's State of the State Address Adult Learning/Continuing Education, Career/Technical Education, Early Learning, Early Learning--Readiness, Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Recommend a total of $2 billion in workforce investments. -- Recommend over $800 million for career education and employment services to retain 3,000 jobs. -- Recommend $6.6 million for Ready to Work to ensure job-seekers of all ages have the skills needed for most jobs today. Community Colleges, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Finance (Postsecondary), Teaching Quality, Tuition/Fees -- Renew our commitment to higher education. -- Continue our commitment to keeping our universities and community colleges affordable and enabling them to achieve excellence. Early Learning, Early Learning--Readiness, Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Recommend $621 million for the School Readiness program (helps preschoolers and parents maintain employment and achieve financial independence). An investment in getting the next generation off to a good academic start will retain more than 12,800 jobs for child-care providers and allow families to remain in the workforce. Economic/Workforce Development, Federal, Federal--Aid, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Finance--Taxes/Revenues -- Avoid tax increases and deep budget cuts thanks in part to the federal stimulus bill. -- Use money from the stimulus bill to provide immediate assistance in education. -- Save or create 206,000 jobs--with the stimulus money. -- Appoint Don Winstead as Special Advisor to the Governor for the implementation of the American Recovery Act. -- Approve the Compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe to preserve and create jobs. -- Invest, through the Quick Action Closing Fund, $45 million to attract and retain industries, aimed at providing more than 17,000 high-wage jobs. Finance, Finance--Funding Formulas, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Pass legislation requiring school districts to spend 70 percent of their budgets in the classroom for our students and teachers. -- Require school districts to provide dollar-by-dollar details online, to instill transparency. -- Consider increasing per-student funding. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Included a $21 billion investment in our students and teachers in recent budget recommendation to the legislature. -- Urge legislature to quickly approve the Compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe, which will release at least $25 billion over 25 years to help education. http://www.flgov.com/pdfs/20090303_stateofthestate.pdf Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's State of the State Address Career/Technical Education, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, High School, High School--Career Pathways -- Expand proven programs like Jobs for Amercia's Graduates to provide work-ready certificates, training and internships to link our students to the education of their career futures. Economic/Workforce Development -- Continue to work toward reversing past years of migration out of our state. Faculty, Finance, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies, Teaching Quality, Teaching Quality--Compensation -- Streamline civil service; make sure to reward employees based on performance, not just length of service. -- Set up a commission of streamlining government. Finance, Finance--Funding Formulas, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Finance (Postsecondary), Postsecondary -- Change higher education formula. Finance, Finance--Funding Formulas, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Reform the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) formula (which determines the cost of a minimum foundation program of education in public elementary and secondary schools and helps to allocate the funds equitably to parish and city school systems). Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Reform the budget process to prevent budget cuts falling disproportionately on higher education and healthcare, which are two areas we must invest in to continue to move the state forward. High School, High School--Career Pathways, High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates -- Reduce the high school dropout rate. Encourage every student to complete their high school education and continue their studies. http://www.gov.state.la.us/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=1183 Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's State of the State Address Career/Technical Education, Economic/Workforce Development--High Tech (STEM), Mathematics, Science, Technology -- Expand career and technical education. -- Renew emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (or STEM). Finance (Postsecondary), Postsecondary -- Invest more in college affordability. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Face a $2 billion shortfall in revenues for Fiscal Year 2010, but we are in a better position than other states. -- Fund many initiatives at the same level at which they were funded last year. -- Invest $5.4 billion in the public schools. State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies, Teaching Quality -- Give state workers the right to organize themselves, if they chose, by passing Fair Share enabling legislation. Teaching Quality -- Propose the first statewide Teacher Survey. http://www.governor.maryland.gov/documents/2009StateOfState_asPrepared.pdf Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's State of the State Address Alternative Education, Finance, Safety/Student Discipline -- Increase funding for the Safe Schools program, which promotes alternative schools for disruptive students. Career/Technical Education, Finance -- Continue funding for career education. Early Learning, Early Learning--Finance, Finance -- Propose a larger investment in early childhood education. -- Increase funding for First Steps, a program that helps children get off on the right foot. Early Learning, Finance, Finance--Funding Formulas, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Postsecondary, Teaching Quality -- Fully fund the education foundation formula. Even in these difficult economic times, that is not negotiable. Must prepare every child to compete from pre-school to college. -- Propose more than 3 billion in state aid to classrooms. -- Continue funding for the Small Schools Program. -- Support our teachers. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Invest in technology, science, and innovation to create the next-generation jobs we need to compete in the 21st-Century. -- Create new jobs now. -- Proposed (several weeks ago) the initial pieces of our Show Me Jobs plan--a series of steps to create jobs and stimulate economic growth. -- Signed (several weeks ago) three executive orders to help spur job creation. -- Proposed a new low-interest loan program for small businesses. -- Create an Automotive Jobs Task Force to revitalize the automobile industry in Missouri. -- Expand The Quality Jobs Act. -- Increase funding for job development and training programs by 38 percent, despite budget problems. -- Ask the legislature to send me an emergency jobs plan before the March break. I'll sign a comprehensive, fiscally sound package. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Postsecondary -- Create and fund the Caring for Missourians program--an initiative to coordinate efforts between our two and four-year institutions to train our next generation of health care workers. Federal, Federal--Aid, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Established an Economic Stimulus Coordination Council to ensure that the state is prepared to wisely invest any federal stimulus package funds. Financial Aid, Finance (Postsecondary), Minority/Diversity Issues, Postsecondary, Rural, Teaching Quality, Teaching Quality--Hard-to-Staff Schools, Teaching Quality--Recruitment/Retention, Tuition/Fees, Urban -- Make the dream of a college education a reality for more Missouri families. -- Propose that state colleges and universities receive the same level of support next year that they currently receive. In exchange for the state's continued level of support, the presidents of the state's public colleges and universities have agreed not to increase tuition on Missouri students. -- Introduce and fund the Missouri Promise, which builds upon the A+ Schools Program (allows students at eligible high schools to get their two-year degrees at community colleges tuition free). Under the Missouri Promise, students who take advantage of A+ scholarships may continue at a Missouri public college or university and complete their four-year degree debt free, as long as they keep a B average and give back to their community. -- Continue funding scholarship programs such as the Missouri Teacher Education Program, Bright Flight, the Missouri Minority Teaching Program, the Urban Flight and Rural Needs Program. Finance, Parent/Family -- Continue funding for the Parents as Teachers program. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies -- Face a significant budget shortfall. -- Bring our budget into balance by making difficult decisions, and by making government more efficient. -- Will not raise taxes on families or businesses. -- Face an immediate shortfall in fiscal year 2009 of more than a quarter of a billion dollars. -- Face even larger economic problems for fiscal year 2010. Thus, my budget eliminates or cuts 50 programs and proposes the elimination of more than 1,300 positions (will save nearly $200 million in overhead). -- Appoint a Taxpayer Protection Commission to implement top-to-bottom performance reviews of every agency and program to identify what's working and what's not working. -- Review all long-term government contracts. http://governor.mo.gov/newsroom/speeches/2009/2009_Missouri_State_of_the_State_Address.htm North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue's State of the State Address Access, Financial Aid, Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Begin the College Promise program to remove financial barriers for access to higher education. Access, Distance Learning/Virtual University, High School, Teaching Quality, Technology, Technology--Access/Equity -- Use technology to modernize the classroom and enable teaching to catch up with the way our kids live. -- Continue to support North Carolina's Virtual Public High School--levels the education playing field for students and assures educational equity. Accountability, Business Involvement, High School, High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates, Parent/Family, Persistence/Retention, Public Involvement, School, Students, Student Achievement, Teaching Quality, Teaching Quality--Teacher Attitudes -- Hold schools accountable. -- Will not give any child permission to drop out of school. -- Will not give any teacher permission to give up on a student. -- Will not give any parent a free pass from their responsibility to be fully involved in their child's education. -- Will not give any segment of our community, particularly our business community, a free pass on education. These leaders need to put the same effort into helping North Carolina be the home of the nation's best educated workforce. Accountability, Governance, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies -- Reorganized (earlier this year) the public school system with Bill Harrison becoming both the CEO of the State Board of Education and of the Department of Public Instruction. Adult Learning/Continuing Education, Economic/Workforce Development -- Create jobs and provide ways for those who are out of work to learn new skills. -- Put people back to work building bridges, paving roads, and expanding and renovating our infrastructure. -- Transform our traditional industries into 21st century jobs. Adult Learning/Continuing Education, Economic/Workforce Development -- Create jobs and provide ways for those who are out of work to learn new skills. -- Put people back to work building bridges, paving roads, and expanding and renovating our infrastructure. -- Transform our traditional industries into 21st century jobs. Assessment, Standards--State -- Eliminating duplicative or unnecessary state tests. Business Involvement, Economic/Workforce Development, Postsecondary -- Become a Mecca for biotech, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences by bringing together government, higher education and private business. Career/Technical Education, Community Colleges, Early Learning, P-16, Postsecondary, Pre-Kindergarten, -- Create a pathway, starting in pre-kindergarten that offers courses of study that fit students' needs -- all the way through vocational, community college, or college. Seamless learning, pre-K through 20, that's the goal. Federal, Federal--Aid, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Ensure the recovery dollars are spent with maximum efficiency, transparency, and accountability. -- Created the Office of Economic Recovery & Investment to track every dollar. Taxpayers can go to www.NCRecovery.gov to see how the money is spent. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Pay our state's bills. -- Confront the $3 billion plus shortfall and make hard, painful decisions to balance the budget. -- Propose to reduce and cut state government programs and services that are effective but which we cannot afford. Finance, Finance--Funding Formulas, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Will not sacrifice education--it is the priority. -- Increase per-pupil spending. Health, Persistence/Retention -- Keep all our kids healthy and in school. http://www.governor.state.nc.us/stateofstate.aspx Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's State of the State Address Accountability, Public Involvement, School Districts, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies -- Establish a new level of school district accountability and transparency. -- Establish performance audits for school districts overseen by the Department of Education--to make sure they are maintaining academic and operating standards. -- Require districts to report their spending plans before each school year and then account for every dollar at the conclusion of the school year. -- Provide parents, public officials, and taxpayers an annual fiscal and operational report card for every school district. When we send districts funding to help students who need additional attention and instruction, we will now be able to track our dollars to see that they directly reach those students. -- Establish a process for districts who fail to comply with the new standards. Upon a certain level of non-compliance, the State Board of Education will revoke the school district's charter. Accountability, Charter Schools -- Establish a new level of accountability in charter schools. Charter schools should meet the same standards demanded of traditional public schools. Arts in Education, Language Arts--Writing/Spelling, Mathematics, Science, Student Achievement, Technology -- Create new academic achievement competitions and awards.  -- Create the Ohio Academic Olympics, where students will compete in science, math, writing, debate, the arts and technology. Assessment, Assessment--College Entrance Exams, Assessment--National Tests, High School, High School--Exit Exams, High School--Grad Requirements, Service Learning/Community Service, -- Replace the Ohio Graduation Test with the ACT and three additional measures. All students will: (1) take the ACT college entrance examination; (2) take statewide 'end of course' exams; (3) complete a service learning project; and (4) submit a senior project.  Assessment, Elementary Education, Middle School  -- Rewrite assessments in grades 3 through 8 to test for mastery of the information and skills in the curriculum. At-Risk, High School, High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates -- Provide enhanced intervention services in schools with high dropout rates, by building on our 'Closing the Achievement Gap' initiative. Character Education, Citizenship Education, Comprehensive School Reform, Curriculum, Education Research, Service Learning/Community Service, Social & Emotional Development, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies, Student Achievement, Teaching Quality -- Introduce my plan to rebuild our education system--using an evidence-based education approach that applies research findings to Ohio's specific circumstances. [note: this plan encompasses many of the initiatives throughout this summary] -- Add new subjects including global awareness and life skills to the curriculum. -- Use teaching methods that foster creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration, media literacy, leadership and productivity, cultural awareness, adaptability and accountability. -- Direct the Ohio Department of Education to set standards for Ohio schools requiring innovative teaching formats. -- Make interdisciplinary methods, project-based learning, real world lessons, and service learning the norm. -- Build the learning experience around the individual student. -- Provide dedicated resources for instructional materials and enrichment activities. Community Colleges, Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Maintain commitment to affordable access to our colleges and universities. -- Maintain tuition freeze for the next two years. Early Learning, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies -- Unite all of our early childhood development programs and resources into the Department of Education. This comprehensive early childhood system will focus on the whole child and provide quality early learning and care while improving our efficiency and effectiveness. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance--Taxes/Revenues -- Renew the Technology Investment Tax Credit to attract investors for new Ohio start-up technology companies. -- Broaden the Job Retention Tax Credit and Job Creation Tax Credit. -- Create a Film Tax Credit to spur the growth of the film industry. -- Create a New Markets Tax Credit based on the existing federal program, to help cities and towns spur investment in downtown multi-use projects. -- Introduce a second jobs stimulus package in the coming months. The package will include an expansion of Ohio's Third Frontier program, regulatory reform and streamlining measures, and additional investments. Education Research, International Comparisons, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies -- Create a Center for Creativity and Innovation within the Department of Education--to monitor research and results from across the country and across the world. Extended Day Programs, Health, Mentoring/Tutoring, Service Learning/Community -- Expand the learning day for all students with activities such as community service, tutoring, and wellness programs.   Federal--Aid, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Finance--Taxes/Revenues, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies, Teaching Quality--Compensation -- Reduce spending by 3.2 billion dollars from 2009 planning levels. -- Reduce a significant number of programs and services; will call for many program reductions of 10 to 20 percent. -- Ask state employees to endure a financial sacrifice.  -- Balance the budget. Without the infusion of federal resources, we would have had to impose far more substantial cuts to balance our budget. -- Will not raise taxes. -- Leverage existing resources and one-time cash transfers. -- Increase various state agency fees, fines, and penalties.  Finance, Finance--District, Finance--Local Foundations/Funds, Finance--Taxes/Revenues, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies -- Eliminate aspects of our current funding system that are indefensible. -- Eliminate the practice where the state asks school districts to pay their bills with phantom dollars. -- Lower the local taxpayer contribution to local schools from 23 to 20 mills. The state will assume responsibility for providing the difference between what those 20 mills raise and the cost of the full range of educational resources our students need according to our evidence-based approach. -- Provide districts the option of asking voters to pass a conversion levy. Financial Aid, Postsecondary, Teaching Quality--Hard-to-Staff Schools -- Provide scholarships for future teachers who agree to teach in hard to staff schools or in hard to staff subjects. Governance, Leadership, Standards -- Strengthen our licensing standards for school principals. -- Give principals the ability and responsibility to properly manage their schools. -- Create standards for the mastery of both education and management principles for school superintendents, school treasurers and other business officials. Health -- Place nurses in our schools. Kindergarten  -- Require universal all-day kindergarten. Outreach Programs, Parent/Family, Public Involvement -- Create community engagement teams in our schools. -- Place professionals in the schools who will help educators, families and community service providers come together to help our children succeed. P-16 -- Continue to support a comprehensive P through 16 system. Postsecondary, Teaching Quality--Preparation--Professional Development Schools -- Redesign university teacher education programs to meet the needs and standards of our primary and secondary schools. Empower the Chancellor of Higher Education to reward university education programs that best prepare their students for success as teachers in Ohio. Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Continue tuition freeze tuition in 2010, and keep any tuition increase to no more than 3.5 percent in 2011 (main university campuses). Scheduling/School Calendar -- Add 20 instructional days to the school calendar, over a ten-year period in order to bring the state's learning year up to the international average of 200 days. State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies -- Call on all state agencies to make government services simpler, faster, better and less costly.  Teaching Quality, Teaching Quality--Certification, Teaching Quality--Induction and Mentoring, Teaching Quality--Preparation, Teaching Quality--Preparation--Professional Development Schools, Teaching Quality--Professional Development, Teaching Quality--Working Conditions -- Improve educator quality. -- Introduce a four-year residency program to advance teacher preparation and development. Under the program, new teachers will be guided by an accomplished senior teacher and successful candidates will earn their professional teaching license. -- Introduce a career ladder that begins with residency and may build up to lead teacher. This allows teachers the opportunity to advance their careers based on objective evidence of student progress.  -- Provide collaborative planning time. -- Make mentoring, coaching and peer review standard. -- Have the Chancellor of Higher Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction collaborate to provide professional development programs and innovative techniques for the classroom. -- Give administrators the power to dismiss teachers for good cause, the same standard applied to other public employees. -- Create a Teach Ohio program to open a path to licensure for professionals who have the subject knowledge but lack coursework in education methods. Successful participants will be eligible to begin the four-year residency program. http://www.governor.ohio.gov/GovernorsOffice/StateoftheState/StateoftheState2009/tabid/984/Default.aspx Texas Governor Rick Perry's State of the State Address Access, Finance (Postsecondary), Financial Aid, Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Make college accessible and affordable for more qualified, motivated students. -- Increase funding for the Texas Grant Program, an initiative for traditionally underserved Texans. -- Freeze a student's college tuition rates for four years at the level they pay as an entering freshman. -- Extend in-state tuition rates to all veterans, regardless of their home of record. Accountability, At-Risk, Student Achievement, High School, High School--Career Pathways, Minority/Diversity Issues, Public Involvement, Postsecondary -- Hold schools accountable for student performance. -- Make sure the accountability system continues to move students (especially low-income and minority students) along the path to graduating "college and career ready" while keeping parents and taxpayers informed on their district's performance. Adult Learning/Continuing Education, Community Colleges, Economic/Workforce Development, Postsecondary -- Increase significantly our investment in community colleges. Community colleges are anchors to their local communities and are ideally positioned to educate a growing population of workers that have either been displaced by the current economic turmoil, or have job skills that have been outpaced by rapidly-evolving technology. -- Expand the Workforce Commission's Skills Development Fund and its training partnerships. Bilingual/ESL, High School, Language Arts, Mathematics, Reading/Literacy, Science -- Reach our goal of ensuring every student graduates from Texas high schools with a strong foundation in math, science and English. Community Colleges, Postsecondary, Private Colleges/Universities -- Improve education at every level. -- Include community colleges and proprietary schools in any discussion of higher education. Completion/Postsec. Graduation, Postsecondary -- Reward four-year universities that increase the number of students they graduate. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Win jobs for Texans. A buyer's market for economic development is emerging and Texas is in better shape during this economic crisis than most other states. -- Replenish the Emerging Technology Fund, the Film Incentives and the Enterprise Fund, to keep drawing ideas, investment and jobs to Texas. -- Invest in adult stem cell research, which will create jobs. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--Taxes/Revenues -- Improve the reformed business tax implemented a few years ago. -- Raise the small business exemption to $1 million. -- Hold the line on taxes and regulatory encroachments, as more people move into the state. -- Upgrade the state's overburdened infrastructure. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Reduce the number of diversions in our budget--only spend tax dollars on the express purpose for which they were collected.  Health -- Address obesity in schoolchildren. I propose we test an incentive-based fitness program like those gaining popularity in the workplace. Mathematics, Science -- Improve math and science education. Postsecondary -- Call for additional transparency in institutions of higher education. Safety/Student Discipline -- Provide just under $32 million to address the gang threat head-on. These funds would be used to pay more officers, provide better coordination of multi-force efforts and fund prosecutions for gang-related offenses. Transnational gangs have been moving into our towns, schools and neighborhoods. School Districts, Technology, Technology--Instruction, Textbooks -- Help schools benefit from evolving educational technologies, by updating our laws and regulations. For example, allow school districts to purchase electronic versions of the text books that have been approved by the State Board of Education. Teaching Quality, Teaching Quality--Compensation -- Put an excellent teacher in every classroom. -- Continue the teacher incentive pay program. http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/11852/ Utah Governor Jon Huntsman's State of the State Address Business Involvement, Career/Technical Education, Economic/Workforce Development, Postsecondary, Technology -- Continue to support the recently introduced career and technical education bill (HB 15). -- Continue to support the goal of a Utah College of Applied Technology system that is more responsive to real-time business needs and is more accessible to Utah's students. Early Learning, Kindergarten -- Continue to support early childhood learning and full-day kindergarten. Economic/Workforce Development, Mathematics, Postsecondary -- Make this year the "Year of Math" for both public and higher education. This will be our economic development engine and our strongest tool in attracting companies to Utah. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Make balancing the budget the first priority. Unlike many other states, we have added flexibility in minimizing impacts to our most critical priorities. -- Reduce spending to hit short-term targets, while not losing sight of long-term goals. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Teaching Quality--Compensation -- Continue on our journey to offer teachers a more competitive wage. While in these difficult economic times we may not be able to further that investment, we must not lose ground. International Education -- Continue to support our 21st century foreign language education programs (including Chinese and Arabic). Postsecondary -- Continue to support energy development and innovation at our higher education campuses. http://www.utah.gov/governor/news_media/article.html?article=2301 Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal's State of the State Address Career/Technical Education, Community Colleges, Finance, Finance--Funding Formulas, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Postsecondary -- Urge the legislature, particularly the Joint Education Committee, to work with the superintendent to figure out why the state ranks first or second in K-12 funding effort, but not in test scores, matriculation or drop out rates. The state is placing education funding at a high enough level that the goal of providing students an opportunity to acquire sufficient knowledge and skills at a minimum to enter the University of Wyoming and Wyoming community colleges, to prepare students for the job market or post-secondary, vocational and technical training and to achieve the general purposes of education, should be achievable. This question should be considered before the school financing formula is recalibrated. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Fund capital construction projects such as highways, airports and other projects across the state that impact the economy and create jobs. -- Provide $900,000 for targeted advertising to help maintain some normality in the tourism sector. The tourism sector is not only important for that sector itself, but it is important because it may be the one source of additional retail expenditures for many of the stores, cafes and other operations in Wyoming. -- Commit to investing funding in the future of the state. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Make difficult decisions about the budget--decisions that have to do with saying "no" in a way that we have never had to say it before. Revenues are available, but that does not mean that they need to be spent. Now is a good time to consider whether we spend state funds properly. -- Fund the First Children's Finance Program--the state's continuing effort to address the lack of available child care in Wyoming. I have identified sources within the current funding stream to fund this program and thus am not asking for additional General Fund consideration. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Teaching Quality--Compensation -- Address accrued obligations, such as the actuarial shortfall in the retirement account caused by the past increase in teacher salaries. To address this I have allotted $150 million to eventually fund that shortfall. http://governor.wy.gov/Media.aspx?MediaId=745 Choice of Schools 2 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools 5 Civic Education--Character Education 1 Class Size 2 Curriculum 5 Curriculum--Arts Education 1 Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language 1 Curriculum--Language Arts 1 Curriculum--Language Arts--Writing/Spelling 2 Curriculum--Mathematics 13 Curriculum--Science 11 Demographics--Enrollments 1 Economic/Workforce Development 45 Education Research 1 Equity 1 Federal 15 Finance 48 Finance--Adequacy/Core Cost 2 Finance--Bonds 2 Finance--District 3 Finance--Facilities 12 Finance--Federal 14 Finance--Funding Formulas 12 Finance--Local Foundations/Funds 1 Finance--Lotteries 5 Finance--Performance Funding 2 Finance--Resource Efficiency 12 Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures 45 Finance--Taxes/Revenues 20 Governance 10 Governance--School Boards 4 Governance--State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies 28 Health 10 Health--Mental Health 1 Health--Nutrition 4 High School 13 High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates 9 High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment 1 High School--Early Colleges/Middle Colleges 1 High School--Exit Exams 1 High School--Graduation Requirements 2 International Benchmarking 1 Leadership 8 Mentoring/Tutoring 2 Middle School 1 Minority/Diversity Issues 2 Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses 4 P-16 or P-20 3 P-3 15 P-3 Early Intervention (0-3) 1 P-3 Family Involvement 1 P-3 Finance 5 P-3 Grades 1-3 5 P-3 Kindergarten 6 P-3 Preschool 4 P-3 Public/Private Partnerships 1 Parent/Family 7 Postsecondary 40 Postsecondary Accountability 1 Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid 17 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees 22 Postsecondary Faculty 5 Postsecondary Finance 25 Postsecondary Governance and Structures 1 Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges 16 Postsecondary Institutions--For-Profit/Proprietary 2 Postsecondary Participation--Access 4 Postsecondary Participation--Enrollments (Statistics) 1 Postsecondary Students--Adults 10 Postsecondary Students--Graduate/Professional 2 Postsecondary Success--Completion 4 Promotion/Retention 1 Public Involvement 5 Reading/Literacy 2 Rural 4 Scheduling/School Calendar 3 Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs 3 Scheduling/School Calendar--Summer School 2 School Safety 4 School/District Structure/Operations 10 School/District Structure/Operations--School Size 1 Service-Learning 1 Social/Emotional Learning and Non-Cognitive Skills 2 Special Education 3 Special Populations--Foster Care 3 Standards 4 State Policymaking 2 STEM 1 Student Achievement 13 Students 1 Teaching Quality 18 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure 1 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay 25 Teaching Quality--Induction Programs and Mentoring 2 Teaching Quality--Preparation 3 Teaching Quality--Professional Development 3 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention 5 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--At-Risk Schools 3 Teaching Quality--Teacher Attitudes 1 Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract 1 Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining 4 Teaching Quality--Working Conditions 3 Technology 13 Technology--Computer Skills 2 Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware 3 Technology--Equitable Access 1 Textbooks and Open Source 1 Urban 2 Whole-School Reform Models 1 799