2011 State of the State Addresses Education-Related Proposals by Issue

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2011 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 6 Accountability--Reporting Results 1 Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions 1 Accountability--School Improvement 2 Assessment 4 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) 1 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education 1 Attendance 2 Bilingual/ESL 1 Business Involvement 5 Career/Technical Education 4 Alaska Governor Sean Parnell's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Postsecondary Scholarships -- Give, in the next three years, 30,000 high school students the opportunity to earn an Alaska Performance Scholarship. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Job Training, Postsecondary Scholarships -- Implemented the Alaska Performance Scholarship giving more than 9,000 high school seniors the opportunity to earn scholarships for university or job training. Facilities, Vocational education -- Built and renovated schools across the state--adding gyms and space for vocational education. Postsecondary Finance, Tax Credits -- Boosted tax credits for gifts to higher education and job-training institutions. http://www.stateline.org/live/details/speech?contentId=540473 Maine Governor Paul R. LePage's 2011 Biennial Budget Address PROPOSALS Finance (K-12 and Postsecondary) -- Increase state aid to local education by $63 million over the biennium from the state aid provided in FY 2011. In 2013 we will contribute $914 million to General Purpose Aid to Education. .... We should ALL be spending our first year on oversight and decision making. Every agency, program and service ought to start at zero and justify their objectives and practices. And before a budget is drafted, suggestions for improvement should be considered. -- Make reasonable changes to the retirement system that save $524 million over the current biennium, with most of the savings accruing to the General Fund. This budget asks retirees to forgo cost of living increases in the short term and to accept modest increases in the future. This budget also asks retirees for the same shared sacrifice we are asking of our state employees and increases the retirement age to 65 for new and recent hires. -- Make no cuts for higher education. -- Continue to provide strong support for scholarship programs. -- Consider additional ways to pay for the cost of higher education as well -- start the discussion about creating Maine Higher Education Savings Bonds. Career and Technical Education -- Support a new collaboration between the Kennebec Valley Community College and Good Will-Hinckley to expand opportunities for kids who need a stable, alternative learning environment. The program will provide career training and prepare students for Maine's workforce. ACCOMPLISHMENTS N/A -- Newly-Elected Governor http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Gov_Speeches&id=197265&v=article2011 South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Postsecondary Readiness and Completion -- Ensure that every student who wants to go to college is fully prepared to enter and graduate. Technical Education -- Expand technical education opportunities, through partnerships with our tech schools and private businesses, so that high school students can have exposure to skilled, technical fields. -- Sponsor a bill to increase the bonding capacity of our postsecondary tech schools, to allow them to continue to expand their campuses and add new programs in technical fields. STEM -- Work toward new approaches to strengthen education in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Finance, Local Control -- Allow local school boards and school administrators to run their own districts. -- Sponsor bills to repeal the 100 student minimum for state aid to school districts and to remove the cap on school district reserve fund balances. Encourage Careers in Health Care -- Partner with health systems, professional organizations, educational institutions, and local governments to increase efforts to encourage students to consider careers in health care. -- Encourage local school districts to give high school credit toward graduation for training in fields like EMT, dietetics, or nursing assistants. -- Continue to promote the privately-funded DakotaCorps scholarship, which rewards young people who commit to staying in the state and entering health care and other high-need fields. ACCOMPLISHMENTS N/A: Newly-Elected Governor http://sd.gov/governor/docs/State%20of%20the%20State,%20Jan.%2011,%202011.pdf West Virginia Governor Earl Tomblins's 2011 State of the State Address PROPOSALS Global Competitiveness/Increased Completion/Teacher Recruitment/Career Education -- Submit legislation to accomplish these goals: - Refocus emphasis on creating an environment where children learn the skills necessary to be productive citizens so they can compete in our global economy. - Ensure efficient and appropriate use of resources. - Decrease the dropout rate in high school and in college. - Eliminate the high level of teacher vacancies in certain areas of the state. - Focus on developing the vocational skills from the middle school level up. - Design classrooms that will foster the development of 21st century skills. School Staff Compensation -- Propose a one-time, $800 across-the-board enhancement for our teachers. -- Propose a similar one-time salary enhancement for school service personnel. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Teacher Compensation -- Supported efforts in 2005 to fill in all of the steps in the teacher salary scale in statute. When filled in, it ensured that every teacher in West Virginia got an approximate 1.5 percent pay raise every single year. -- Presenting a General Revenue Fund budget that furloughs no teachers. Postsecondary -- Worked hard to create a consistent, comprehensive system of education. Now, community and technical colleges have the independence to focus on teaching the skills needed for the workforce. http://www.governor.wv.gov/Documents/State%20of%20State%20%202011.pdf Choice of Schools 3 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools 8 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Cyber Charters 1 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Finance 1 Choice of Schools--Choice/Open Enrollment 2 Choice of Schools--Tax Credits 2 Choice of Schools--Vouchers 2 Choice of Schools--Vouchers--Privately Funded 1 Class Size 1 Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language 1 Curriculum--Mathematics 1 Curriculum--Science 1 Economic/Workforce Development 18 Finance 17 Finance--Adequacy/Core Cost 1 Finance--District 3 Finance--Facilities 3 Finance--Federal 3 Finance--Funding Formulas 3 Finance--Resource Efficiency 1 Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures 13 Finance--Taxes/Revenues 2 Governance 7 Governance--School Boards 2 Governance--State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies 2 Health 1 High School 7 High School--Advanced Placement 3 High School--College Readiness 6 High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates 2 High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment 1 High School--Graduation Requirements 2 Leadership--District Superintendent 2 Leadership--District Superintendent--Compensation and Diversified Pay 1 Leadership--Principal/School Leadership 4 Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses 2 P-16 or P-20 5 P-3 5 P-3 Grades 1-3 4 P-3 Kindergarten 1 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten 3 P-3 Preschool 2 Parent/Family 1 Postsecondary 8 Postsecondary Accountability 1 Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid 6 Postsecondary Affordability--Textbooks 1 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees 5 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Prepd/College Savings Plans 1 Postsecondary Faculty--Compensation 1 Postsecondary Finance 13 Postsecondary Finance--Efficiency/Performance-Based Funding 1 Postsecondary Institutions 2 Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges 3 Postsecondary Participation--Access 6 Postsecondary Participation--Affirmative Action 1 Postsecondary Students 1 Postsecondary Success--Completion 7 Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation 1 Postsecondary Success--Transfer/Articulation 1 Privatization 1 Promotion/Retention 3 Reading/Literacy 2 Remediation (K-12) 2 Rural 2 Scheduling/School Calendar 1 Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs 1 School Safety 2 School/District Structure/Operations--District Consolidation/Deconsolidation 2 School/District Structure/Operations--Facilities 1 School/District Structure/Operations--Shared Services 2 Special Education 2 Special Populations--Military 1 Standards 2 Standards--Common Core State Standards 1 State Policymaking 5 STEM 6 Student Achievement 8 Teaching Quality 6 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay 5 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Pay-for-Performance 3 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Retirement/Benefits 5 Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness 8 Teaching Quality--Paraprofessionals 1 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention 1 Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract 5 Technology 4 Technology--Computer Skills 5 Technology--Equitable Access 1 Technology--Teacher/Faculty Training 1 Textbooks and Open Source 1 Youth Engagement 1 329