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 2 Assessment 4 Assessment--College Entrance Exams 3 Assessment--Formative/Interim 1 At-Risk--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 Continuous Impr/Performance Mgmt. 2 Continuous Impr/Performance Mgmt.--Promising Practices--Schools 1 Curriculum 1 Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language 1 Demographics--Condition of Children/Adults--Welfare 1 Distance Learning/Virtual University 5 Economic/Workforce Development 12 Economic/Workforce Development--Research 3 Economic/Workforce Development--STEM 6 Economic/Workforce Development--Workforce Demand 3 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 High School--International Baccalaureate 1 Instructional Approaches 1 Leadership 1 Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Evaluation and Effectiveness 2 Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Preparation 1 No Child Left Behind 2 No Child Left Behind--Flexibility 1 P-16 or P-20 1 P-3 Early Care & Intervention 2 P-3 Early Care & Intervention--Child Care 1 P-3 Early Care & Intervention--Health & Mental Health 1 P-3 Early Grades 2 P-3 Early Grades--1-3 1 P-3 Early Grades--Kindergarten 3 P-3 Early Grades--Kindergarten--Full Day 1 P-3 Early Grades--Preschool 7 P-3 Systems 2 P-3 Systems--Ensuring Quality 3 P-3 Systems--Evaluation/Economic Benefits 1 P-3 Systems--Finance 2 P-3 Systems--Governance 3 P-3 Systems--Teaching Quality/Prof. Dev. 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 Georgia Governor Nathan Deal's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Appropriate an additional $146.6 million to fully fund enrollment growth in K-12 schools. -- Put an additional $3.7 million toward funding for school nurses, and move school nurses and the school nutrition program and transportation funding into the Quality Basic Education funding formula. These funds will be allocated using the same formula local districts are accustomed to, but they will have complete flexibility in how to spend them.  -- Appropriate an additional $55.8 million to fund salary increases for teachers based on training and experience.  P-3 and Reading -- Provide funding for increasing the Pre-K school year for 84,000 students by 10 days, bringing it to 170 days.  -- Make a concerted effort to increase the percentage of children reading at grade level by the completion of 3rd Grade. The best evidence tells us that children not meeting this standard often fail to catch up and are more likely to drop out of school, go to prison and have higher unemployment rates later in life than their reading-proficient peers.  Students must "learn to read" in order to be able to "read to learn" and when we fail to invest in our youngest students, we are forced to spend money on remediation for the remainder of their academic careers.  -- Budget $1.6 million for a reading mentors program. This program will assist schools and teachers as they work to help more young Georgians achieve this strategic benchmark – reading at grade level by the completion of 3rd grade. Charter Schools and Innovation -- Put in place strategies that provide students with opportunities to practice and apply what they are learning in a high-quality, real-world environment. This is one reason we allotted nearly $20 million of our Race to the Top money for the creation of an Innovation Fund.  This initiative asks schools to partner with businesses, non-profits and postsecondary institutions and places a primary focus on developing applied learning opportunities.  -- To spur innovation, recommend $8.7 million in supplemental grants in both the Amended budget and next year's budget for state chartered special schools affected by the Georgia Supreme Court ruling on charter schools.  -- Develop a plan to ensure that charter schools can thrive in Georgia.  Postsecondary and Job Readiness -- Clarify the mission of our schools. Students graduating from our high schools … those young men and women who have done everything asked of them by our K-12 system … should be fully ready for postsecondary study or a job! Ensure that there is a more seamless transition from High School to further study … and from postsecondary study to the workforce.  Financial Aid -- For every student who earned HOPE this year, maintain the same HOPE Scholarship award amount next year. -- Appropriate $20 million for the needs-based one percent student loan program which eases the burden of affording a college education Postsecondary and Economic/Workforce Development -- Ensure that postsecondary institutions maintain an intense focus on employability and creating job opportunities. In today's competitive global environment where technology is constantly reshaping the economy, that means abandoning the "ivory tower" model and adapting to meet the needs of business.     -- Add $111.3 million in funding to address anticipated enrollment growth in both the technical college and university systems. -- Work together to ensure that Georgia has the craft professionals to meet present and forecast demand. Boost the state's pipeline by launching Go Build, a public-private initiative that will round out the state's workforce development program by educating young people and the public at large about the skilled trades. Already, the business community is unable to fill many positions calling for highly-skilled industrial and commercial construction professionals, jobs that on average pay 27% more than the average Georgian currently brings home.  -- Be a destination for cancer research and a resource for every family battling this disease. Georgians deserve a world-class, public medical university, and it will be a priority of this administration to have a medical college among the top 50 nationally. Within this push, the Georgia Health Sciences University will seek to become the state's second National Cancer Institute designated Cancer Center, alongside the Winship Cancer Center at Emory. Invest $5 million to support this goal of a second Georgia-based Cancer Center. In order to address the need for additional health professionals in Georgia, we have been investing in the expansion of undergraduate medical education for several years.  We must now take the next step in this process by funding 400 new residency slots in hospitals across the state.  ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance -- Restored the Rainy Day Fund.  The balance today is $328 million, an increase of 183%. -- Passed structurally balanced budgets that fund the essential services without raising taxes. Financial Aid -- Appropriated $20 million for the needs-based one percent student loan program which eases the burden of affording a college education. Half of the newly-appropriated $20 million funds went to students who had no assistance from their families. http://gov.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,165937316_165937374_180385525,00.html Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Technology, Pay-for-Performance -- Fully fund Students Come First, including its technology and pay-for-performance elements. K-12 Finance -- Apply targeted and responsible General Fund increase to help public schools' resources go further and make the K-12 education system more effective and customer-driven. -- Set aside a total of $60 million in the Public Education Stabilization Fund, the Budget Stabilization Fund, and the new Higher Education Stabilization Fund. Postsecondary Finance -- Fully fund the cost of enrollment growth going forward at universities, colleges and community colleges. -- Invest in the College of Western Idaho, one of the fastest-growing community colleges. Postsecondary Facilities -- Fully fund the cost of moving into and operating new facilities on schools' campuses. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Technology, Student Achievement -- Completed the Idaho Education Network's Phase One efforts. -- All 194 Idaho high schools are now connected to the IEN (Idaho Education Network) - almost a year ahead of schedule and 16% under budget. -- Improved student achievement through use of technology and distance learning. http://gov.idaho.gov/mediacenter/speeches/sp_2012/State_of_the_State_2012.pdf Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Facilities -- Build modern schools. Teacher Quality - Pensions -- Split the responsibility of the pension system 50/50 between state and counties. Teaching Quality - Recruitment and Retention --Create and save 78,000 teaching jobs at public schools across the state. Postsecondary, Community Colleges - Facilities -- Build new facilities at Cecil Community College, Harford Community College and Howard Community College as well as Frostberg State and Morgan State University. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Student Achievement -- Elementary and middle school students achieved their highest ever scores on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) in reading and middle school students achieved their highest ever scores in math. -- High school students achieved the best AP scores in the nation. -- Rated #1 best school system in nation by Education Week for four years in a row. Facilities -- Built new schools and modern classrooms. High School - Graduation Rates -- High school graduation rates reached an all-time high. Postsecondary - Enrollment -- Enrollment at Maryland's colleges and universities reached an all-time high in Fall 2011. Enrollment in 4-year institutions has grown 21% since 2005. Postsecondary - Finance -- Froze in-state tuition at state colleges and universities four years in a row and held increases to 3% for the last three years. Postsecondary - STEM -- Colleges are graduating 21% more science, technology, engineering and math students (STEM). http://www.governor.maryland.gov/documents/StateOfTheState2012.pdf Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Community Colleges, Economic/Workforce Development --Community colleges are uniquely positioned to help close the state's skills gap and get people back to work. Community colleges must become a fully integrated part of the state's workforce development plan.  They must be aligned with: + Employers, voc-tech schools and Workforce Investment Boards in the regions where they operate + Each other in core course offerings + The Commonwealth's job growth strategy. --Channel more state workforce training dollars through the community colleges. Community College Funding, Governance --Create a unified community college system to: + Help students find courses specifically tailored to meet local workforce needs alongside a core curriculum that emphasizes STEM subjects and with credits that are easily transferable to another community college or a four-year college. + Create "learn and earn" programs across the entire state enabling students to get practical workplace experience while completing course work.   + Offer the students the opportunity to earn a certificate of workplace readiness, opening doors in their chosen field anywhere in the state. And as they near course completion, offer one-stop career centers right on campus to help them move into, or back into, the workplace. --Streamline the funding and governance of community colleges, and increase overall funding by $10 million. --Challenge to the business community: Match that new funding with an additional $10 million. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Public Employee Pensions --Made meaningful reforms in the pension system. Student Safety --Legislature approved and funded the "Safe and Successful Youth Initiative."  Student Achievement --Massachusetts students lead the nation in overall achievement and the world in math and science. http://www.mass.gov/governor/pressoffice/speeches/23012012state-of-the-commonwealth-address.html Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Economic Development --Enact "Jobs Now" tax credit to encourage businesses to hire unemployed Minnesotans, Veterans, and recent college graduates. --Expand the Minnesota GI Bill to provide education benefits to all eras of veterans. Finance --Repair buildings and upgrade classroom equipment at state colleges and universities via passage of a bonding bill. State Policymaking --Develop education initiatives in cooperation with teachers, rather than in conflict with them. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Federal --Had the state's No Child Left Behind Waiver application approved. Finance --Increased the per-pupil aid formula by $50 per student in each year of the biennium. --Successfully applied for Race to the Top dollars. P-3 and Early Literacy --Expanded Early Childhood Education. --Enacted "Read by Third Grade." Teaching Quality --Enacted an Alternative Licensure path for teachers. --Established evaluation requirements for both teachers and principals. Full text: http://mn.gov/governor/images/2012_State_of_the_State.pdf New Hampshire Governor John Lynch's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance - Funding Formula -- Pass a bipartisan constitutional amendment that would eliminate the requirement that the state spend the same base amount for every student in every town and allow us to target state education aid. School Structure - Facilities -- Put in place a reformed building aid program that will establish a building aid budget, prioritize projects, and increase the match available to school districts with the greatest needs. Postsecondary - Finance -- Make it a priority to restore funding for higher education. ACCOMPLISHMENTS P-3 - Kindergarten -- Made kindergarten available to every student in every community in New Hampshire. At-Risk - Alternative Education -- Invested in alternative education programs Attendance - Compulsory --Increased the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18. Economic/Workforce Development -- Launched New Hampshire Working. This program has already helped avert the layoffs of more than 1,200 workers. It has helped companies hire hundreds of people by allowing up to six weeks of on-the-job training for people collecting unemployment. And this fall, we launched its final component, which is helping unemployed workers assess and upgrade their job skills. Finance -- Increased funding for our public schools Community Colleges -- Partnering with a billion-dollar company to create an advanced composites training program at the Great Bay Community College in order to ensure Albany, NH has the workforce it needs. Postsecondary - Facilities -- Invested in modernizing the facilities at our colleges and universities http://www.governor.nh.gov/media/speeches/documents/013112state.htm Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber's State of the State Address PROPOSALS P-3 --Implement the recommendations of the Early Learning Council to: +Streamline disparate programs as part of a plan to ensure coordination and accountability +Consolidate boards +Get programs focused on outcomes for children and families. --Serve more at-risk kids and make sure they're ready to learn from day one. --Develop the capacity to measure program effectiveness before children reach kindergarten, and better transition them once they reach the K-12 system.  Accountability, High School--Dropout/Graduation Rates, Goal-Setting --Obtain an NCLB waiver and create a home-grown alternative that provides smart accountability and better paths to student success. Legislation to be introduced in February creates educational achievement compacts and is essential to obtaining a waiver. The legislation is also essential to meeting the state goal of 100% high school graduation for Oregonians by 2025; with 80% of those graduates receiving at least two years of post-secondary education or training; and 40% earning a bachelor's degree or higher. --Use achievement compacts to replace the federal, compliance-based approach with partnership agreements between the state and educational institutions – districts, community colleges and universities. The compacts express a common commitment to improving outcomes, but tailor outcomes to unique circumstances of individual districts. And they allow for the comparison of results and progress between districts with comparable populations. Class Size, Non-Core Curriculum --Reduce class sizes in K-12. --Add courses like art, music, PE and career and technical skills back into the curriculum. K-12 and Postsecondary Finance --Provide additional resources. Public education system is underfunded at all levels. --Do not let the absence of adequate funding foreclose a real discussion about how to more effectively spend existing resources. --Target existing resources to leverage points – like early learning, third-grade reading, and college completion – that are proven to significantly drive costs down. Postsecondary Finance --Expand the capacity of public universities significantly to accommodate tens of thousands of additional graduates. ACCOMPLISHMENTS P-20, Finance, Governance, Teacher Professional Development, Learning Options for Students --Created the Oregon Education Investment Board. --Created legislation promoting the professional development of teachers. --Created more learning options for students (dual enrollment, Advanced Placement, two-plus-two, International Baccalaureate). --In taking these actions, the legislature made the first steps toward a more student-centered system. For the first time, funding and governance will be aligned across the full continuum from early childhood services through K-12 and post-secondary education and training to achieve the state's educational, social and economic objectives.  P-3 --Created the Early Learning Council focused on restructuring the fragmented, inefficient way the state provides early childhood services. Currently, the state spends over $800 million every biennium on programs for children ages 0-5, yet 40% of Oregon children still arrive at school at risk because their needs were not adequately addressed. Continuing to support a system with these outcomes should no longer be acceptable. http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/media_room/speeches/s2012/cityclub_011312.shtml Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett's State of the State Address PROPOSALS State Policymaking -- Give more flexibility at the level where money will be spent: the county and school district. Postsecondary -- Create a panel on postsecondary education to study our system and to make recommendations on how our universities can best serve the students and citizens. Postsecondary/Community College - Finance; Financial Aid -- Maintain funding for career and technical education. -- Invest in the Targeted Industry Certificate program that increases grants for college and trade school students who are training for high-demand occupations. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance - Funding Formula -- Invested $5.3 billion to the Basic Education funding formula last year, the largest amount the state's taxpayers have ever put into the formula. http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/current_and_proposed_commonwealth_budgets/4566/2012-13_proposed_budget_news_releases_and_governor's_address/1067477 South Carolina Governor Nikki R. Haley's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Schools of Choice - Charter Schools -- Support charter school expansion and do not cut spending. Transportation -- Give local school districts more control over school buses. Postsecondary - Finance -- Evolve the way higher education is funded. The intention is twofold: reward the schools that well-serve our students while providing real motivation for those that need to improve. -- Adopt a new accountability-based funding formula for higher education, based on merit and accountability, not on which school is the most popular. ACCOMPLISHMENTS --n/a http://www.governor.sc.gov/News/Pages/RecentNews.aspx Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Economic Development -- Focus on education to make sure that Tennessee is a state that attracts companies and keeps its best and brightest graduates in state with good-paying, high-quality jobs. Make sure graduates have strong enough skills to meet companies' needs. Educator Quality -- Make the evaluation process better. The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) will be spending the year talking to teachers and principals statewide to evaluate the evaluation system, and after gathering and analyzing that information, there may be changes that need to be made. -- Recruit, retain and reward the best and brightest employees through the TEAM Act (Tennessee Excellence, Accountability and Management Act). Federal -- Be one of the first states to receive a waiver from the federal government's No Child Left Behind law. Build an accountability system that measures growth and improvement and gives every school a chance to success by doing better each year. Finance -- Rather than cutting the education budget, continue to fund the Basic Education Program (BEP) cost increases. -- Restore over $100 million out of $160 million of slated cuts that had included programs like the Coordinated School Health Program, extended teacher contracts, etc., to protect vital services Postsecondary Finance, Financial Aid and Costs -- Increase higher education's operating budgets. -- Increase the amount of money available in need-based scholarships. -- Keep tuition increases to a minimum to encourage more access to more students. -- Provide state funding for a number of new buildings and lab facilities on state campuses. Postsecondary Governance -- Strengthen the Tennessee Higher Education Commission's tie to the Governor's Office. THEC functions as a policy arm for higher education issues, and like the policy chief for K-12 education reports to the governor, it makes sense that higher education should have a similar structure. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Charter Schools -- Expanded charter school opportunities. Financial Aid -- Made lottery scholarships available to students for summer school to encourage them to finish faster and to help universities use their campuses year round. Teaching Quality -- Reformed tenure laws. http://forward.tn.gov/stateofthestate/files/2012StateoftheStateAddress.pdf Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Economic Innovation -- Transform Vermont into the innovative education leader, where from early childhood to higher education to continuing education, the state trains employees for the prosperous jobs of the future. Dual Enrollment, Higher Education -- Proposing significant state investments in higher education and dual enrollment. ACCOMPLISHMENTS -- n/a http://governor.vermont.gov/blog-state-of-the-state-address Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Dual Enrollment -- Promote greater dual enrollment in high school and community college. Finance -- Increase funding for K-12 education by $438 million over this biennium. Funding will go towards: + Communities in Schools program + For all 10th graders to take the PSAT + Hire more teachers in science, technology and math + Improve financial literacy + Increase dollars going to the classroom + Start up of new health science academies + Strengthen the Virginia Retirement System for teachers and school employees + Strengthen Virginia's diploma requirements P-3 - Reading/Literacy -- Fund policies to ensure all young people can read proficiently by third grade. Postsecondary - Finance -- Invest over $200 million in new funding for colleges and universities. -- Institute a dynamic new funding model for higher education. + Reward institutions for increasing the number of degrees, especially in STEM-H fields; improving graduation rates, and expanding practical research. + Require colleges to be more accountable and efficient by re-prioritizing 5 percent of their current general fund dollars by 2014 to meet the key policy goals enacted last year. School Calendar -- Repeal the state mandate that school divisions begin their school term after Labor Day unless they receive a waiver. Give local districts the flexibility to choose. School Choice -- Expand charter schools -- Require a portion of the state and local share of Standards of Quality (SOQ) student funding to follow the child to an approved charter school. -- Make approval process and acquisition of property easier for new charters. Teacher Quality - Evaluations and Employment (tenure) -- Implement an improved evaluation system. -- Remove continuing contract status from teachers and principals and replace with annual contract status. Virtual Schooling -- Ensure that a portion of the state and local share of SOQ student funding follows the student to the virtual school sector. -- Implement new regulations for accrediting virtual schools and teachers. Vouchers--Tax Credits -- Provide a tax credit for companies that contribute to an educational scholarship fund. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance -- Invested wisely for the future in education. http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaLibrary/Speeches/2012/SOC.cfm Washington Governor Chris Gregoire's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Accountability -- Step in and turn around schools where dropout rates are high, student performance and achievement are low, and where no progress is being made. Teaching Quality - Evaluations -- Overhaul the way teachers are evaluated by focusing on high-quality instruction, student achievement and growth. -- Provide a system to evaluate the performance of principals based on student achievement. Finance -- Lift the levy lid. -- Fund levy equalization. P-3 - Preschool, Kindergarten -- Continue implementation of all-day kindergarten for all kids. -- Create "All Start," a voluntary Washington preschool program to provide early learning opportunities to all 3- and 4-year-olds. Postsecondary - Community/Technical Colleges -- Provide funding to community and technical colleges to retrain 2,500 workers for the jobs of tomorrow. Postsecondary - Finance -- Provide four-year institutions with competitive tuition flexibility. -- Restore funding for the State Need Grant Program in order to keep the doors to higher education open to students of all income levels. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Student Achievement -- K-12 student test scores continue to rank high nationally. School Choice -- Innovative schools in cities around the state have been highly successful in raising vital math and science skills. Postsecondary - Community/Technical Colleges -- Community and technical college system is rated as one of the best in the nation Teaching Quality -- Rank fifth in the nation in board-certified educators. http://www.governor.wa.gov/speeches/speech-view.asp?SpeechSeq=213 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 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--District Structure 1 School/District Structure/Operations--Facilities 4 School/District Structure/Operations--School Structure--Class Size 1 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 Student Achievement 7 Student Supports--Integrated Services 1 Students--Promotion/Retention 3 Teaching Quality 6 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure 2 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--Employment--Reduction in Force 1 Teaching Quality--Employment--Tenure or Continuing Contract 10 Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness 16 Teaching Quality--Induction Programs and Mentoring 1 Teaching Quality--Preparation 3 Teaching Quality--Preparation--Alternative Preparation 1 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 Technology--Instruction 2 Urban--Change/Improvements 1 Youth Engagement 1 359