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 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 Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's State of the State Address Adult Learning/Continuing Education, Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Propose legislation to extend in-state tuition to every veteran in Arizona--to support our veterans and increase the number of college graduates in our state. Charter Schools, Choice -- Expand and preserve school choice through the growing institution of quality public charter schools. Completion/Postsec. Graduation, Enrollment, Postsecondary, Postsecondary--Statistics -- Continue to charge the universities with the task of doubling the number of bachelor's degrees earned in Arizona by 2020. Economic/Workforce Development, Enrollment, Facilities, Finance--Resource Efficiency, Finance--Facilities, Postsecondary -- Implement the plan passed by the legislature last year to build and improve the physical infrastructure of our universities – a plan that accommodates future enrollment growth while creating needed construction jobs. -- Continue to build an educated workforce by increasing our research capacity – through our universities as well as institutions like TGen and Science Foundation Arizona. -- Build energy efficient school buildings--the construction of which will provide an economic stimulus. Finance -- Increase the proportion of our education funds spent in the classroom. Finance (Postsecondary), Postsecondary -- Avoid additional university budget cuts. Governance, Leadership, School Boards, Teaching Quality--Compensation, Teaching Quality--Working Conditions -- Continue to improve the professional status – and the pay – of our classroom teachers. -- Demand more of our administrators and elected school boards. http://www.governor.state.az.us/documents/sos/2009/2009%20SOS%20Address.pdf Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's State of the State Address Adult Learning/Continuing Education, Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance (Postsecondary), Financial Aid, Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Continue to support the Worker Left Behind initiative which trains workers for skilled jobs available in Michigan. This program provides free college tuition, up to $5,000 per year for two years. Currently 52,000 citizens are being trained through the initiative. At-Risk, Economic/Workforce Development, Finance (Postsecondary), Financial Aid, Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Create Promise Zones in 10 Michigan communities struggling with high rates of poverty--use the promise of free college education to spur greatness in our kids and economic development in those communities. Business Involvement, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies, Technology -- Reform state government. I have asked Lt. Governor Cherry to lead a comprehensive effort to dramatically change the shape and size of state government—reducing the number of our departments from 18 to 8, reforming our civil service system, creating public/private partnerships and infusing technology everywhere. -- Urge the State Officers Compensation Commission to reduce the salaries of all state elected officials in Michigan by 10 percent. Community Colleges, Finance, Finance (Postsecondary), Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- Ask state universities and community colleges to freeze tuition for the next academic year. Completion/Postsec. Graduation, Postsecondary -- Double the number of college graduates in the state. Comprehensive School Reform, High School, High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates, School Districts, Student Achievement -- Help school districts replace high schools that don't work, with small, rigorous ones that do, through the 21st Century Schools Fund. Plans are already under way to create more than 25 of these rigorous new high schools that keep kids in school and put them on the path to success in college and careers. Economic/Workforce Development -- Fight for good paying jobs and educate and train Michigan citizens to fill those jobs. -- Continue to make renewable energy a key focus of our economic development strategy. -- Diversify our economy without deserting our major industry, the American automobile industry. -- Announce that: Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit; Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth; and Motown Motion Pictures will invest $54 million to build their new film studios at a former GM plant in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures alone will create 3,600 jobs. -- Announce that Great Lakes Turbine will locate in Monroe, creating hundreds more jobs building wind turbines. -- Create jobs by reducing the state's reliance on fossil fuels for generating electricity by 45 percent, by 2020. We will do this through increased renewable energy, gains in energy efficiency and other new technologies. Instead of spending nearly $2 billion a year importing coal or natural gas from other states we'll be spending our energy dollars on Michigan wind turbines, Michigan solar panels and Michigan energy-efficiency devices, all designed, manufactured and installed by Michigan workers. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance--Facilities -- Create the Michigan Energy Corps to put thousands of unemployed citizens back to work this year, weatherizing homes, schools and other public buildings, installing renewable energy technology, and turning our abundant natural resources into renewable fuels. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Postsecondary, School Districts -- Require cities, townships, counties, school districts, colleges and universities to adopt their own Buy Michigan First policies. Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Realize that the state's budget situation is difficult, but it pales in comparison to the situation many states are in. Mathematics, Teaching Quality, Teaching Quality--Professional Development -- Give teachers, through the Algebra for All initiative, the professional development they need to teach algebra in a proven way that ensures all kids master it. The program will begin this summer. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/SOS2009_265915_7.pdf Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen's State of the State Address Business Involvement, Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures, Mathematics, Science, Postsecondary -- Ask the General Assembly, the private sector, our university system, and Oak Ridge to work with me in the months ahead to invent a way to become a national leader in basic solar research. Oak Ridge—in combination with UT Knoxville—has the research tools to draw not only scientists from all over the world to come work here, but also Tennessee's brightest young math and science students. Completion/Postsec. Graduation, Postsecondary, Tuition/Fees -- "Fix" the fact that as the costs of Tennessee higher education continue to grow, the likelihood increases of some students abandoning the dream of a college degree. -- Ask the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, the Board of Regents and the THEC commissioners: work with me and the General Assembly to figure out how we can keep higher education affordable, get more kids to graduate and fashion a true 21st century higher education system for our state. Economic/Workforce Development, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Invest in creating jobs. -- Create jobs in the area of clean energy technology. Federal, Federal--Aid, Finance, Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures -- Send the legislature a conservative budget in March. I plan to wait until the federal government acts and then fashion a budget that incorporates the effects of that stimulus package. -- Understand that no proposed version of the stimulus bill is any panacea and substantial cuts will still be needed. -- Remain cautious about the use of rainy day funds. -- Stay focused on those things that are most important for the long term success of Tennessee: education and the creation of good jobs. High School, High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates, Mathematics, Postsecondary -- Want to tell the state's eighth graders this: you need more education than you think you do. In the years ahead, making things is something you'll do less and less with your hands and more and more with your minds. Stay in school. Take lots of math. Graduate. Go to college. http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/gov/state-of-the-state/2009-State-of-State-Address.pdf 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/ 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