2013 State of the State Addresses Education-Related Proposals by Issue

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2013 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 2 Accountability--Rewards 2 Accountability--School Improvement 3 Assessment--High Stakes/Competency 1 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) 6 Attendance 1 Bilingual/ESL 1 Business Involvement 2 Career/Technical Education 4 Choice of Schools 3 Choice of Schools--Charter Schools 7 Choice of Schools--Choice/Open Enrollment 2 Choice of Schools--Tax Credits 1 Choice of Schools--Vouchers 3 Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Dropout Prevention -- Fund national certifications for high school students enrolled in workforce training. Choice - Charter Schools -- Pass a charter school act. Choice - Open Enrollment -- Implement an open enrollment policy. Choice - Vouchers -- Create privately funded Opportunity Scholarships for students who are below 250 percent of the poverty level and live in D and F schools districts. P-3 - Best Practices -- Fund $3 million to help Mississippi Building Blocks continue literacy research and thereby develop best practices in early education. Postsecondary -- Build new expansion at University of Mississippi's School of Medicine. With the addition of new classrooms and laboratories, each incoming class of medical students will increase to more than 160. Reading/Literacy -- End social promotion of third grade students who cannot read on a third-grade level. -- Fund $15 million to assist with literacy improvement efforts. These funds will help us train teachers on best-practices in reading instruction and will also help provide reading interventionists to help struggling third-graders and other students. Teacher Pay-for-Performance -- Reward best teachers with higher pay. Teacher Preparation --Raise the bar for new teachers by raising the entrance standard for education programs. A student must have a 21 ACT score and a minimum GPA of 3.0 to become a teacher. Why would we want anything less for our students? Teacher Recruitment - Scholarships -- Fund 200 scholarships for students who have a 28 ACT score, a 3.5 GPA, and who commit to teaching in Mississippi public schools for five years. ACCOMPLISHMENTS State Policymaking - Task Forces -- Formed a working group of educators at all levels to identify the core problems in Mississippi's public education system and develop realistic recommendations for improvement. Full Text: http://www.governorbryant.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/State-of-the-State.pdf Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval's 2013 State of the State Address PROPOSALS Choice -- Provide more choice of schools by giving businesses a tax credit for making contributions to a scholarship fund (an opportunity scholarship). These dollars will be distributed, on a means-tested basis, to students at low-performing schools for use in attending the school of their choice. English Language Learners -- Invest $14 million in an English Language Learners initiative. Finance -- Provide more support for autism and early intervention services -- Overall, make a new investment of $135 million in Nevada's schoolchildren. P-3 -- For pre-Three students, increase funding for early education in the state's most at risk schools. -- Aggressively expand all-day kindergarten among the state's most at-risk schools -- Allocate 20 million dollars over the biennium for this purpose. High School -- Fund the JAG program (Jobs for America's Graduates) to include up to 50 additional high schools by 2014 and to serve nearly 2,000 additional high school students. State Longitudinal Data System -- Fund a data system that links student performance to teacher effectiveness. This system is a long term investment in what will be the backbone of our approach to teacher evaluation. Teaching Quality -- Make a new investment in Teach for America to help recruit, train, develop, and place top teacher and leadership talent in Nevada. Postsecondary -- With the Chancellor's support, create new courses of study at UNR and UNLV focused specifically on the sectors targeted for economic growth -- Establish UNLV as the global intellectual hub for gaming, hospitality and entertainment -- Pair community colleges more closely with workforce needs so that they can deliver students into jobs that will be waiting for them in the new economy -- Support and extend the Kenny C. Guinn Millennium Scholarship through 2017 -- Financially support the University Cooperative Extension program in rural Nevada. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Governance -- Reinvigorated the State Board of Education. Teaching Quality -- Required performance-based evaluations for teachers -- ending teacher tenure as we know it. Full text: http://gov.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/govnvgov/Content/2013StateOfTheState.pdf Texas Governor Rick Perry's State of the State Address Charter Schools -- Increase the number of public charter schools. Community Colleges/Workforce Development -- Encourage and incentivize more fast track technical certification programs. Under this framework, an individual will be able to attain certain certification in a high-demand industry, utilizing competency-based learning to allow students to gain credit for skills they have already mastered. High School -- Give students more flexibility in the courses they take in high school to prepare them for whatever their goals may be, without sacrificing the rigorous academic standards. Postsecondary Affordability -- Offer $10,000 degrees at 13 Texas universities. -- Institute a four-year tuition freeze for incoming freshmen. Postsecondary Finance -- Give South Texas access to the Permanent University Fund. Postsecondary Finance - Performance Funding -- Tie at least a portion of state funding - a minimum of 10 percent - to be based on the number of graduates. Vouchers -- Introduce scholarship programs that give students a choice, especially those who are locked into low-performing schools. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Graduation Rates -- Graduation rates are at an all-time high - the third highest in the nation - which represents a significant turnaround from just a few short years ago. High School - Placement Tests -- 42 percent more African-American students are now taking the SAT than were participating five years ago, and 65 percent more Hispanic students. Along the same time frame, the rate of Hispanic students taking the ACT has doubled. Full Text: http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/18095/ Civic Education 2 Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language 1 Curriculum--Mathematics 1 Economic/Workforce Development 18 Finance 21 Finance--Facilities 3 Finance--Federal 1 Finance--Funding Formulas 1 Finance--Lotteries 1 Finance--Performance Funding 1 Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures 6 Finance--Taxes/Revenues 3 Governance 3 Health 2 Health--Mental Health 1 High School 3 High School--College Readiness 3 High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates 1 High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment 2 High School--Exit Exams 1 High School--Graduation Requirements 1 Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools 1 Online Learning--Digital/Blended Learning 2 P-16 or P-20 1 P-3 4 P-3 Kindergarten 3 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten 2 P-3 Preschool 14 Parent/Family 1 Postsecondary 5 Postsecondary Affordability 4 Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid 6 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees 3 Postsecondary Finance 9 Postsecondary Finance--Efficiency/Performance-Based Funding 6 Postsecondary Finance--Facilities 1 Postsecondary Institutions 1 Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges 1 Postsecondary Online Instruction 1 Postsecondary Participation--Access 3 Postsecondary Success--Completion 4 Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation 1 Reading/Literacy 10 Scheduling/School Calendar 1 Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs 1 School Safety 8 Service-Learning 1 Special Education 4 Special Populations 1 Special Populations--Military 3 Standards 1 State Longitudinal Data Systems 1 State Policymaking 4 State Policymaking--Task Forces/Commissions 5 STEM 4 Student Achievement 4 Student Supports--Counseling/Guidance 1 Teaching Quality 5 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Alternative 1 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay 5 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Pay-for-Performance 6 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Retirement/Benefits 3 Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness 5 Teaching Quality--Preparation 3 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention 6 Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract 2 Technology 4 Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware 1 Youth Engagement 1 285