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 California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.'s State of the State Address PROPOSALS Accountability, Assessment, Data-Driven Decisionmaking, Teacher Mentoring and Evaluation --Reduce the number of tests and get the results to teachers, principals and superintendents in weeks, not months. --With timely data, principals and superintendents can better mentor and guide teachers as well as make sound evaluations of their performance. --Develop a qualitative system of assessments such as a site visitation program where each class is visited, observed and evaluated. Will work with the state board of education to develop this proposal. Finance --Devote more tax dollars to this most basic of public services (public education). --Pass proposed temporary taxes. Governance, Mandates, Finance, Local Control --Clearly delineate responsibility between the various levels of power that have a stake in California's educational system. What most needs to be avoided is concentrating more and more decisionmaking at the federal or state level. Set broad goals and have a good accountability system, leaving the real work to those closest to the students. Demand continuous improvement in meeting state standards, but not impose excessive or detailed mandates. ----Replace categorical programs with a new weighted student formula that provides a basic leveling of funding with additional money for disadvantaged students and those struggling to learn English. This will give more authority to districts to fashion the kind of programs they see their students need. Will also create transparency, reduce bureaucracy and simplify complex funding streams. Public Employee Pension Reform --Put forth 12-point proposal. Three times as many people are retiring as are entering the work force. Benefits, contributions and the age of retirement all have to balance. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Undocumented Immigrants --Enactment of the Dream Act. http://gov.ca.gov/docs/GOVERNOR_BROWN_OFFICIAL_STATE_OF_THE_STATE_ADDRESS_Final.pdf Delaware Governor Jack Markell's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Curriculum - Foreign Language -- Press ahead with the World Language Expansion Initiative. + Create partial immersion programs in twenty schools (in the next 5 years), where students will spend half the school day learning in another language. P-3 Early Grades - Ensuring Quality, Facility Evaluation, Teacher Evaluation (Early Learning Challenge winner) -- Properly train professionals who care for young children. -- Ensure that early childcare facilities where our children spend their days will have the best teaching and learning tools. -- Continually monitor the successes and challenges of centers to ensure continual improvement. -- Raise the percentage of high-need children in quality-rated programs from 20 percent to nearly 80 percent over the next four years. -- Introduce a new kindergarten assessment to let us know where our kids stand when they start school. Teacher Quality - Evaluations -- Implement without additional delay the Performance Appraisal System, with its focus on student progress. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Curriculum - Foreign Language; High School -Graduation Requirements -- Completion of a world language is a graduation requirement. Finance - Federal -- Won nationwide Race to the Top Grant. -- Won nationwide Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge. Standards -- Established high standards. Assessments, Accountability -- Put in place an improved assessment system so parents and teachers can track student progress and identify quickly when students risk falling behind. Teacher Quality -- Provide support to teachers with resources that help them raise student achievement. http://news.delaware.gov/2012/01/19/state-of-the-state-2012-transcript-delawares-time-to-lead/ Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad's Condition of the State Address PROPOSALS P-3 Early Grades and Reading -- Use a new kindergarten assessment to measure whether children start kindergarten ready to learn and leave prepared to flourish in first grade. -- Assure that children can read by the end of third grade.  Otherwise, they will fall further and further behind.  An intensive focus on literacy means working closely with families and providing more support for reading and writing in schools starting in preschool, and continuing through kindergarten, first, second, and third grades. Because reading is so essential for later success in school, it is unfair to promote an illiterate child. High School -- Put in place end-of-course tests for core subjects that will demonstrate that high school students are ready to graduate. These will be designed with teachers, and will emphasize not just knowing content but being able to apply it. -- Require all juniors to take a college entrance exam, with the state covering the cost. In addition, they should have the option of taking a work skills readiness test.  This will tell us whether Iowa students are college and career ready for life after high school. Standards -- Continue to improve the Iowa Core —our state standards in math, science, English, and social studies. But well-rounded, healthy students need more than just these core areas. The Department of Education will also help for educators to develop new standards for music and other fine arts, character education, physical education, entrepreneurship education, applied arts, and foreign languages. -- Promote competency-based learning that personalizes education for each child, and begins the process of moving us away from the time-based industrial model of education. Teachers and Leaders -- Ensure a great teacher in every classroom and a great principal leading every building by being more selective about who can become an educator. A "B" college grade-point average for admission to Iowa's teacher-preparation programs is not asking too much. -- Require all prospective teachers seeking a state license to demonstrate content and teaching mastery to assure they are ready for the crucial work of teaching our children. -- Change the School Administration Manager program to provide more time for principals to be instructional leaders. Other staff can take on management tasks to free principals to observe and coach teachers in their classrooms. Technology and Innovation -- Encourage more schools to be innovative by establishing an Innovation Acceleration Fund.  Schools and partners will identify education problems and innovative solutions.  Competitive grants will fund the best ideas, which may be scaled up statewide. Youngsters need more opportunities to engage in real-world experiences–including internships–in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Doing well in these subjects is the gateway to fast-growing fields with some of the best-paying jobs—whether students are headed for career training or a two- or four-year college. -- Promote online learning that complements learning in traditional classrooms. Overarching goals: -- Adopt common sense solutions for Iowa's schools to give children a world class education and to again have the nation's best school system. -- Commit long-term to make Iowa ready to support the jobs and careers of the future–the very careers that will keep Iowans home and bring new economic opportunities to our state. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance -- Took the necessary steps to put the state's fiscal house back in order; ended dependency on one time revenue; funded a balanced budget using on-going revenue; and passed a biennial budget that funds most areas for two years. Leadership --Convened an education summit that brought together some of the best minds from Iowa, our nation, and the world -- Followed the summit with the release of an initial blueprint to start a statewide conversation on how to give kids the best education -- Hit the road to hold an unprecedented number of education town halls to engage students, parents, teachers, job-creators, and other Iowans in a true give-and-take dialogue about the future of Iowa's education system -- Revised the blue print into actual reforms that are before the legislature now. https://governor.iowa.gov/2012/01/gov-terry-e-branstad-delivers-2012-condition-of-the-state-address-to-the-iowa-general-assembly/ South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Accountability -- Introduce new accountability system: test students at the beginning of the year, to set a baseline, in the middle of the year, to allow for a mid-course correction, and at the end. Assessments -- Require more than 2,000 high school students take the National Career Readiness Certificate test. Standards -- Common Core State Standards -- Adopt Common Core Standards -- Provide aggressive training programs for teachers on teaching the Common Core Standards. STEM and Applied Learning -- Expand the scrubs camp concept (free, one-day, hands-on training) into engineering camps and technical camps and math camps. Teaching Quality -- Evaluation, Effectiveness and Employment -- Implement the "South Dakota Investing in Teachers" initiative. -- Introduce new teacher evaluation system - consider growth in test scores, classroom evaluations and other factors. -- Provide training programs to help administrators learn new teacher evaluation system. -- End the availability of tenure, effective July 1 of this year, for anyone who doesn't have it by that date. Pay-for-Performance -- Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, identify top 20% best teachers based upon the new evaluation system and give each teacher a bonus of $5000. -- Beginning in the 2013-14 school year, pay every middle school and high school math or science teacher a bonus of $3500 every year. Postsecondary - Community/Technical Colleges, Technology, Distance Learning -- Develop hybrid courses to deliver instruction both on-line and in the lab for technical training. -- Expand the technical training (specifically, welding) in the Springfield corrections facility. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Instructional Approaches -- Hundreds of SD students have experienced the "scrubs camps" organized by the state Department of Health. Scrubs camps are free, one-day, hands-on health career camps for high school students. Student Achievement -- High school graduation rates are strong. -- High school graduates go on to post-secondary education at one of the highest rates in the nation. -- Students' test scores, ACT and NAEP, routinely exceed national averages. http://sd.gov/governor/docs/State%20of%20the%20State%20Address.pdf 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 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