2012 State of the State Addresses Education-Related Proposals by Issue

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2012 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 7 Accountability--Reporting Results 6 Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions 3 Accountability--School Improvement 4 Assessment 4 Assessment--College Entrance Exams 3 Assessment--Formative/Interim 1 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education 1 Attendance 3 Career/Technical Education 7 Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship 1 Choice of Schools 4 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools 11 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Research 1 Choice of Schools--Vouchers 5 Civic Education--Professional Development 1 Class Size 1 Curriculum 1 Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language 1 Demographics--Condition of Children/Adults 1 Economic/Workforce Development 16 Federal 1 Finance 24 Finance--Facilities 1 Finance--Federal 2 Finance--Funding Formulas 4 Finance--Resource Efficiency 2 Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures 2 Governance 3 Governance--Deregulation/Waivers/Home Rule 1 Health--Teen Pregnancy 1 High School 3 High School--Advanced Placement 3 High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates 4 High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment 6 High School--Graduation Requirements 1 Instructional Approaches 1 Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools 1 International Baccalaureate 1 Leadership 1 Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Evaluation and Effectiveness 2 Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Preparation 1 No Child Left Behind 3 Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses 5 P-16 or P-20 1 P-3 2 P-3 Child Care 1 P-3 Early Intervention (0-3) 2 P-3 Ensuring Quality 3 P-3 Evaluation/Economic Benefits 1 P-3 Finance 2 P-3 Governance 3 P-3 Grades 1-3 3 P-3 Health and Mental Health 1 P-3 Kindergarten 3 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten 1 P-3 Preschool 7 P-3 Teaching Quality/Professional Development 1 Postsecondary 1 Postsecondary Accountability--Student Learning 1 Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid 7 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees 1 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Undocumented Immigrants 1 Postsecondary Finance 13 Postsecondary Finance--Efficiency/Performance-Based Funding 1 Postsecondary Finance--Facilities 3 Postsecondary Governance and Structures 2 Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges 6 Postsecondary Participation--Enrollments (Statistics) 2 Postsecondary Success--Completion 3 Postsecondary Success--Completion--Completion Rates (Statistics) 4 Postsecondary Success--Transfer/Articulation 1 Promising Practices 1 Promotion/Retention 3 Reading/Literacy 12 Rural 1 Scheduling/School Calendar 3 Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs 1 School Safety 2 School Safety--Bullying Prevention/Conflict Resolution 1 School/District Structure/Operations--Facilities 4 School/District Structure/Operations--Transportation 1 Special Education 2 Special Populations--Immigrant Education 1 Standards 2 Standards--Common Core State Standards 2 State Policymaking 7 STEM 6 Student Achievement 7 Teaching Quality 6 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure 2 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Alternative 1 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Highly Qualified Teachers 1 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Natl. Bd. for Prof. Teach. Stds. 1 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay 2 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Pay-for-Performance 6 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Retirement/Benefits 6 Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness 16 Teaching Quality--Induction Programs and Mentoring 1 Teaching Quality--Preparation 3 Teaching Quality--Professional Development 2 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention 2 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--At-Risk Schools 3 Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Charter Schools - Evaluations -- Pass a comprehensive charter school accountability bill that holds all charter schools - and their sponsors - to high standards of academic achievement and financial integrity. Finance -- Increase funding for K-12 classrooms. Teaching Quality - Recruitment at High-Risk Schools, Evaluation and Effectiveness -- Recruit our best college students to become teachers in those urban and rural public schools that have the greatest needs and hold them accountable for what kids are learning. Special Education - Autism -- Pass legislation to increase access to care by expanding the number of licensed professionals working with children with autism. Postsecondary - Financial Aid -- Provide stable funding for our state college scholarships, including Bright Flight, Access Missouri, and A+. -- Increase number of A+ scholarships granted to students from 12,500 this year to 14,000 next year. High School - Dual Enrollment; Career/Technical Education - Apprenticeships; Postsecondary - Financial Aid -- Expand Innovation Campuses which allow students to enroll in college courses while still in high school, and then participate in high-impact apprenticeships throughout the college curriculum. Corporate partners will underwrite tuition scholarships, and faculty and employers will partner to guide each student. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Student Achievement -- Students have shown academic improvement for four years in a row. Distance Learning -- Expanded the ability of a local school in Otterville to provide web-based classes using streaming video. Finance -- Maintained level funding for K-12 classrooms during difficult economic times. Teaching Quality - Certification, Alternative Preparation -- Put teaching certifications on-line. Special Education - Autism -- Passed legislation to ensure that children with autism get the therapy they need. Community/Technical Colleges, Economic/Workforce Demand -- Established new higher-education programs like Caring for Missourians, Training for Tomorrow, MoHealthWINS and our Nurse Training Initiative through community colleges in order to prepare thousands more Missourians for rewarding careers. -- Increased investment in our Customized Training Program by 50 percent. The investment allowed employers to provide on-the-job training to nearly 37,000 workers who are currently working at more than 300 Missouri businesses. Postsecondary - Enrollment -- Increased enrollment at public colleges - over the past three years, we've added 31,000 students. That's set a new record each fall. High School -- Added 110 "A+" schools (The A+ Schools Program mobilizes an intensive partnership among high schools, community colleges, students, teachers, parents, labor, businesses, and communities to give these students the motivation, skills, and knowledge to graduate from high school. The schools create an innovative and well-designed path from high school to high skill, high wage jobs). -- Increased the number of students enrolled in A+ schools by 30%. Postsecondary - Tuition Affordability -- Froze tuition in 2009 and 2010 at all public colleges and universities. http://governor.mo.gov/newsroom/2012/Gov_Nixon_delivers_2012_State_of_the_State_address New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's State of the State Address PROPOSALS School Choice - Charters -- Reform the process for authorizing charter schools. School Choice - Vouchers -- Establish tax credits to provide scholarships for low income students in the worst-performing schools in the state to enable them to attend a better school, either out of the district or a private school. Teacher Quality - Seniority -- End the system of "last in, first out." If layoffs are necessary remove the least effective teachers instead of just the most junior ones. Teacher Quality - Tenure -- Reform tenure – by measuring teacher effectiveness, both with professional observation, and objective, quantifiable measures of student achievement – and then by giving tenure to those with strong evaluations, and taking it away from those whose ratings are unacceptably weak. Teacher Quality - Compensation -- Pay teachers more when they are assigned to a failing school or to teach a difficult subject. Teacher Quality - -- End forced placements. Teachers should not be assigned to schools without the mutual consent of the teacher and the principal. ACCOMPLISHMENTS School Choice - Charters -- Passed the Urban Hope Act. This new law will allow school districts in Newark, Camden and Trenton to partner with experts in the private sector to build and operate renaissance schools in these districts so in need of change. Teacher Quality - Retirement -- Reformed the pension system which led to every teacher's pension being more secure today. http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/news/552012/approved/20120117c.html West Virginia Governor PROPOSALS Accountability --Introduce legislation to establish a pilot program to improve struggling local schools. Under this pilot program, local administrators and educators will be granted flexibility to attract qualified teachers into those local schools in an effort to obtain better student results. This legislation will be implemented in coordination with the Reconnecting McDowell Project, a public-private partnership involving over 40 organizations that will focus on everything from jobs and economic development, housing and transportation, technology and services for students and their families. Finance --Find innovative ways to invest in new and improved schools. Public/Private Partnership, Literacy, Rural --Save the Children will match $1 million in state funds with a $500,000 investment in McDowell County. Save the Children will partner with 3 elementary schools and their administrators to focus on literacy. Teacher Evaluation --Introduce legislation incorporating student achievement into every teacher performance evaluation. This bill will codify a pilot program currently in place and expand it to require yearly assessments of teacher performance. Economic/Workforce Development--Research --Continue to bridge the gap between the education system, its research components and the potential for new business development. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance--Resource Efficiency --An efficiency audit conducted by private experts has generated ideas that can save approximately $90 million in the state education system every year. These recommendations have the potential to eliminate overlap and allow schools to work smarter and more efficiently. http://www.governor.wv.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/Documents/2012%20State%20of%20State%20Final%20-%20Press%20Copy.pdf Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--High-Needs Subjects 1 Teaching Quality--Reduction in Force 1 Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract 10 Technology--Computer Skills 2 Urban--Change/Improvements 1 Youth Engagement 1 356