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 Civic Education 2 Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language 1 Curriculum--Mathematics 1 Economic/Workforce Development 18 Finance 21 Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Continue to fund the Reading Initiative, AMSTI, Distant Learning and Advanced Placement. P-3 - Preschool -- Increase funding and expansion of voluntary Pre-K programs.  Administered by the Office of School Readiness, local, voluntary Pre-K programs may apply for grants but will be required to meet certain criteria.  School Improvement -- Address and turn around chronically failing schools. School Safety -- Develop a strategic plan for preventing and responding to incidents of active shooters.  Teacher Compensation -- Offer a two-and-a-half percent pay raise for teachers and support personnel. ACCOMPLISHMENT Economic/Workforce Development -- Launched a statewide effort to bring education and business together so our workforce will not only be well-trained, but also highly skilled by creating the College and Career Ready Task Force.  P-3 - Preschool -- Alabama's Voluntary Pre-K program once again is ranked Number One in the nation by the National Institute for Early Education Research. Teacher Issues -- Formed a Teacher Cabinet.   Full Text: http://www.governor.alabama.gov/news/news_detail.aspx?ID=7528 Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Ensure that our schools have adequate funding to continue the push toward excellence. A recent State Supreme Court ruling raises serious questions about the long-term path of Arkansas education policy, and it may require us to act legislatively in the short term. We've asked the Court to revisit the matter, and we'll see what they decide. -- Address the goal of equity between higher-education institutions in a small, modest way. Military -- Take steps to help military families who find themselves stationed in Arkansas by joining an interstate education compact to give incoming students of these families a smoother transition into our schools. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Student Achievement -- For a second consecutive year, Arkansas is ranked fifth in the country for overall K-12 education. There are two categories in there that we're still too low in. The one that's the most pressing is involves the raw scores of our students vis-a-vis their counterparts across the country. We've made progress, but not nearly enough. http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&news_id=3742 California Governor Jerry Brown's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Funding/Local Control -- Cut categorical programs and put maximum authority and discretion back at the local level—with school boards. Through a brand new Local Control Funding Formula, distribute supplemental funds — over an extended period of time — to school districts based on the real world problems they face. This formula recognizes the fact that a child in a family making $20,000 a year or speaking a language different from English or living in a foster home requires more help. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Funding -- Passed Proposition 30. Full Text: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17906 Georgia Governor Nathan Deal's 2013 State of the State Address PROPOSALS P-3 -- Fund 10 days additional pre-K days in the 2014 school year (doing so also increases salaries). Finance -- Provide $156M in additional funding for enrollment growth in K-12 schools in FY2013.  For next year [2014], there will be $147 million for enrollment growth and salary increases for teachers based on training and experience. There is also an additional $41 million to fully fund the revised Equalization formulas adopted last year. -- Change the 1985 funding formula to modernize the way we spend tax payer dollars so that we can produce more positive results in our public schools. Governance and Accountability -- Use legislation to solve the problem of Georgia having too many school boards placed under the sanctions of potential loss of accreditation. While this is a very serious matter, it is somewhat ironic that the loss of accreditation can only be based on governance issues and not on substandard academic progress of the school system. Reading/Literacy -- Include $1.6 million in this year's budget to continue the reading mentor program. Economic/Workforce Development -- Focus more funds within our HOPE Grant Program toward occupations where we know jobs are available and shortages actually exist. Currently, there are several thousand jobs available for individuals with a commercial driver's license. There are similar shortages in the areas of nursing and early childhood education. In order to fill these vacancies we suggest directing additional funds within our Technical College HOPE Grants so that over 90 percent of the tuition costs in these programs will be provided. Postsecondary --Increase the Hope Scholarship by 3% over last year, bringing the total funds going to Hope in FY 2014 to nearly $600 million -- Fully consider the Higher Education Funding Commission's recommendation for change from enrollment-based funding to outcomes-based funding in our university and technical colleges. ACCOMPLISHMENTS P-3 -- Designated by the National Institute for Early Education Research as having 10 out of 10 in measures of quality. Georgia was one of only five states to receive such a designation. Reading/Literacy -- Focused on literacy by designating $1.6M to establish a reading mentor's program that was designed to grow the percentage of Georgia's children who are reading on grade level by the 3rd grade. Full text: http://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2013-01-17/deal-focus-foundations-strengthen-georgia   Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie's 2013 State of the State Address PROPOSALS Digital Learning -- Advocate for a significant investment and commitment to support the DOE and BOE's Digital Materials Initiative to provide students with learning opportunities for the 21st century. Within the next three years, provide each of our public school students with current curricular materials on a digital device, such as a tablet or laptop. This initiative takes advantage of new technology for learning and the state's broadband infrastructure.Having students with curriculum materials on a digital device solves the problem of not having enough textbooks or obsolete textbooks. Finance -- Convene community meetings to solicit public input and feedback for the 21st Century Schools initiative--a public-private partnership that allows the Department of Education to lease underutilized lands for the purpose of generating income to be used to upgrade existing schools or construct new schools. Teachers, administrators, students, parents, community residents and other stakeholders will be included in the community meetings. P-3 -- Ensure all Hawaii's four-year-olds are healthy, socially developed, and cognitively prepared to learn and succeed on day one of kindergarten. -- Include $32.5 million for the Executive Office on Early Learning in the biennium budget for a school readiness program. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance -- As a result of our collaborative efforts, shared sacrifice and judicious administrative action, the year-end general fund balances for FY 2011 was $126 million, and for FY 2012 $275 million. For this year, which ends in approximately 5 months, we are again looking at a healthy positive balance. Student Achievement -- ­ Students demonstrated unprecedented gains in student achievement. Hawaii was the only state to show gains across the board in every subject and grade level. Full text: http://governor.hawaii.gov/2013-state-of-the-state/ Indiana Governor Michael R. Pence's State of the State Address PROPOSALS P-3 - Full-day kindergarten -- Increase funding for full day kindergarten. Pensions -- Fully fund teacher pensions each of the next two years. Postsecondary/Workforce Development -- Create a partnership with Indiana's life sciences industry and the universities, to spur research and produce high-paying jobs. Finance/Accountability -- Increase in funding for schools each of the next two years, with the second year based on school performance. Teacher Pay-for-Performance -- Invest $6 million in teacher excellence grants to increase pay for our high-performing teachers. Reading/Literacy -- Ensure that every third grader can read, Dropout Prevention -- Invest in highly successful dropout prevention programs like Jobs for America's Graduates. P-3 - Preschool -- Continue to expand educational opportunities, especially for those with the fewest resources, beginning with pre-K education. Expand incentives for Hoosiers to support innovative, community-driven pre-K effort for low-income children. School Choice -- Expand tuition tax deductions, removing the prior year requirement and lift means testing for foster, adopted, special needs and military families. Postsecondary - Performance Funding -- Increase funding to our state-sponsored colleges and universities and tie funding and financial aid to on-time completion. Career/Technical -- Make career, technical and vocational education a priority in every high school in Indiana. -- Create Regional Works Councils to work with business and educators across the state to develop regional, demand-driven curricula to bring high-paying career options to more Hoosiers in high school. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Accountability -- 207 schools received the highest school ranking for the first time. Forty-three schools moved up three letter grades. Twenty-eight schools moved from the lowest ranking to a mid-ranking. Full Text: http://www.in.gov/gov/2013stateofstate.htm Kansas Governor Sam Brownback's 2013 State of the State Address PROPOSALS Reading/Literacy -- Ensure each of the 40,000 kindergartners is able to read proficiently by the time they reach 4th grade. The Kansas Reads to Succeed initiative has three components: First, it will provide $12 million to support innovative programs to help struggling readers.  Second, it will provide incentives to elementary schools that most successfully increase 4th grading reading scores.  Third, it will require 3rd grade students to demonstrate an ability to read before being promoted to the 4th grade.  Finance -- Submit (for legislative approval) a full two-year, balanced budget recommendation, with substantial focus on efficiency and effectiveness. x It protects base aid and increases total state funding for K-12 schools. x It maintains stable funding for higher education. x It provides funding to educate 50 additional medical doctors every year at a new, state-of-the-art medical training building at the University of Kansas Medical Center.  -- Ask the legislature to make it clear in law that defining what is "suitable provision" for public funding of education is a job for the people's elected representatives – and no one else. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance -- When I started as governor, we began the fiscal year with $876.05 in the bank and a projected deficit of $500 million - even after taxes had been increased.  Working with the legislature, we ended last fiscal year with a $500 million ending balance…a billion dollar swing to the good AND we paid off all of our callable bonds! https://governor.ks.gov/media-room/media-releases/2013/01/16/2013-state-of-the-state-delivered-by-governor-sam-brownback Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Economy -- Increase jobs in education by 114,000. Finance -- Invest to improve public education Finance - Buildings -- Invest to build new schools.  Postsecondary Access -- Offer early access to affordable college credit by letting motivated high schools students work toward both their two-year Associates Degree and their high school diploma – at the same time.   Postsecondary - Community Colleges -- Increase funding for community colleges Postsecondary - Completion -- Redesign college curricula and courses to better promote completion.  -- Move the system toward rewarding a student's competency, and not merely the years he or she spends sitting in a lecture hall.    -- Rework financial aid so that more students can afford to carry full course loads to complete their degrees on or ahead of time.  -- Give students more on-line options for earning college credit. Postsecondary Finance - Tuition -- Continue to hold down the cost of college tuition. School Safety -- Invest in security upgrades in our schools. Technology -- Invest in iPads, laptops, smart-boards, and 21st century digital learning tools.  ACCOMPLISHMENTS General -- Remained #1 in education (best public schools in America) five years in a row.   -- Record high student achievement.  -- Record high graduation rates.  -- Significantly closed the achievement gaps between white and non-white students.   -- Achieved highest Advanced Placement scores in science, technology, engineering, and math MD students have ever achieved.  -- Have the best overall AP scores of any state in the nation. Postsecondary Finance - Tuition -- Remained #1 in holding down the cost of college tuition.   Full Text: http://www.governor.maryland.gov/blog/?p=8075 Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick's State of the Commonwealth Address PROPOSALS Extended Instructional Time -- Ensure that every middle school child in every Gateway City has a longer school day, filled with enrichment programs, service learning, art, exercise and music. Finance -- Once again fund K-12 education higher than we did last year -- Place a greater reliance on the income tax and less reliance on the sales tax (cut the sales tax from the current rate of 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent and dedicate all of the proceeds to a public works fund in support of transportation, school building fund, other public works) -- To support our education initiatives, increase the income tax by 1% -- to 6.25%. To make that increase fair to all according to their ability to pay, double the personal exemptions for every taxpayer and eliminate a number of itemized deductions.  P-3 -- Ensure that every child in Massachusetts has access to high quality early education. Postsecondary -- Raise our investment in public colleges and universities, and reinvigorate the MassGrants scholarship program. ACCOMPLISHMENTS -- Introduced new accountability and flexibility to our schools -- Saved the Commonwealth over 11 billion dollars so far, which in turn has enabled us to invest in education, innovation and infrastructure. Full text: http://www.mass.gov/governor/pressoffice/speeches/0116-state-of-the-commonwealth.html Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Economic/Workforce Development -- Increase funding for workforce training that's custom-tailored to the needs of Missouri employers. Finance -- Increase funding for education by $150 million. -That's $17 million more for early childhood education. -That's $34 million more for higher education. -And that's $100 million more for our K-12 classrooms. -- Issue bonds that will allow the state to establish a permanent, low-interest loan fund dedicated to improving local schools.  -- Create the BOOST (Building Opportunities in Our Schools Today) Fund for investment in first-rate, 21st Century facilities: state-of- the art computers and science labs, libraries and wired classrooms.  P-3 - Preschool -- Double funding for the Missouri Preschool Program and put more money into programs like Early Head Start. Postsecondary Affordability -- Invest $75 million for Access and Bright Flight scholarships and for A+ scholarships, which cover tuition and fees at all our public community colleges.  -- Expand A+ scholarship program to every public high school in the state. Postsecondary Completion -- Help adult students finish their degrees on-line, from an accredited university that's putting down new roots in Missouri. Postsecondary Facilities -- Provide funds for cutting-edge university research facilities in areas critical to our competitiveness, such as engineering, math, and science with targeted bond issuance. Postsecondary Finance -- Tie new funding to specific performance goals - like increased student retention, higher graduation rates and improved learning. School Schedule -- Lengthen the school year (extend by 6 days). Teacher Training -- Invest in training more teachers Technology -- Invest in modern equipment. ACCOMPLISHMENT Graduation Rates -- High school graduation rate is now the seventh-highest in the nation. Postsecondary Affordability -- Expanded the A+ program to 150 more schools. Economic/Workforce Development -- Dramatically increased Missouri's investment in worker training, helping 150,000 Missouri workers sharpen their skills and get better jobs in their field. Full Text: http://governor.mo.gov/newsroom/2013/Gov_Nixon_delivers_2013_State_of_the_Address 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 New Mexico 2013 State of the State Address Delivered by Governor Susana Martinez PROPOSALS At Risk -- Create a new, statewide dropout warning system to help parents and teachers identify students who are at-risk of dropping out long before they reach high school. Tackle the root causes head-on. High School -- Fund several other reform opportunities for high school students, including $2.5 million to expand Advanced Placement courses to provide AP test waivers for low-income minority students, and to train more AP teachers so that every child in New Mexico has the opportunity to get a jump-start on college. Reading/Literacy -- Expand the "New Mexico Reads to Lead" program from $8.5 million to $13.5 million. School Improvement --Provide $4.7 million in school turnaround programs to close the gap between high-performing schools and schools that are struggling. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance -- Protected critical priorities like classroom spending. Protected child care for working moms and school clothes for kids in need. -- One of only 14 states to be awarded federal Race to the Top funding - $25 million to help more children in New Mexico get the help they need in early education. P-3 -- Made permanent the K3 Plus program, a program that helps struggling students with additional instruction and more help. -- Doubled the funding for Pre-K. Reading/Literacy -- Hired reading coaches and trained nearly 2 thousand educators in methods proven to produce better readers. Link to full text: http://governor.state.nm.us/uploads/PressRelease/191a415014634aa89604e0b4790e4768/STATEOFTHESTATEADDRESS.pdf Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin's 2013 State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Increase education spending by $13.5 million in order to fund recently enacted reforms. STEM -- Emphasize STEM in all levels of public education. Teacher Compensation -- Invest $8.5 million of supplemental funding to pay for teachers' health benefits. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Accountability -- Developed an A-F grading system for public schools. High School -- College and Career Readiness -- Implemented high school exit exams. -- Aligned the high school diploma with college, career and citizen ready standards. Reading/Literacy -- Put reforms into place to help ensure that every third grader can read at grade appropriate level before they advance to the fourth grade. Postsecondary -- Awarded almost 2,000 more college degrees and career tech certificates than the previous year. Technology -- Developed a new, voluntary program for schools known as "Open Range" that will be available to help schools begin their own IT consolidation efforts, improve their technology and free up more dollars in the process. Full Text: http://www.ok.gov/governor/documents/2013%20State%20of%20the%20State%20-%20Text%20as%20Prepared%20for%20Delivery.pdf Oregon Governor John A. Kitzhaber's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Reinvest in the classroom other crucial public services by reducing the cost of health care and corrections; reducing the cost drivers that are diverting resources from the classroom; and undertaking serious review of Oregon' tax expenditures. Pensions -- Cap the cost of living adjustment for PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) retirees ACCOMPLISHMENTS P-20 System -- Moved toward a seamless integrated educational system from early childhood through college and career. Full Text: http://www.oregon.gov/gov/media_room/Pages/speeches/StateoftheState2013.aspx Rhode Island Governor Lincoln D. Chafee's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Increase funding for higher education of $6 million if the leadership of these institutions will meet halfway. If they can achieve $6 million in total savings and efficiencies, coupled with the $6 million in additional funding, students of these schools will see no tuition increase next year. -- Provide $3 million in new state support for workforce development initiatives. -- Invest an additional $500,000 to enhance the operations of the 195 Redevelopment Commission. The medical, research, and education fields – the 'meds and eds' are important. Continue to focus on these assets to grow our economy and create jobs. School Safety -- Join with the leaders of the House and Senate to craft, introduce, and pass legislation that makes Rhode sland a safer place both for us and our children. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Career & Technical -- Allocated over $14 million to support repairs at the state's vocational education facilities. Finance --Voters approved a number of important bond items this past November. These initiatives will boost the economy by investing in some of Rhode Island's premier assets, such as the environment, institutions of higher education, and veterans' services. Full text: http://www.governor.ri.gov/ri2013/movingRIforward.pdf South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Start a conversation about the way we fund K through twelve schools in South Carolina.  State Policymaking -- Give voters the opportunity at the ballot box to make the constitutional change to allow governors to appoint the Superintendent of Education.  ACCOMPLISHMENTS Charter Schools -- Reaffirmed our commitment to charter schools. Alternative Teacher Certification -- Invested in innovation with a focus on both rural and urban areas through programs like Teach For America. Teacher Evaluation -- Gained more flexibility to manage and evaluate our schools and educators Full Text: http://governor.sc.gov/News/Pages/RecentNews.aspx South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard's State of the State Address PROPOSALS College Remediation -- Redesign remediation courses so that high school students who need help can complete remediation before they enter college. Finance -- Fund the Education Enhancement Funding Corporation by refinancing the state's tobacco bonds, which were issued ten years ago as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies. Special Populations - Military Families -- Offer professional licensure portability bill for military spouses. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Economic/Workforce Development -- Legislature approved South Dakota Workforce Initiative – SD WINS – 20 initiatives focused on developing the qualified workforce that will underpin our economic growth over the next decade. -- Directed economic development grants to purchase machinery to establish a new welding program at Mitchell Tech, adding 18 new training slots this year. Funded the development of an innovative new distance learning program at Lake Area Tech to deliver online distance training in welding and precision machining. Expanded the welding program at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, to train 32 more inmates in this skilled trade. -- Redirected some Community Development Block Grant dollars to workforce training activities. Since implementing this change, eight grants totaling over $1 million have provided funds for training over 300 workers in jobs including certified nursing assistants, training for commercial driver licenses, and others. Full Text: http://sd.gov/governor/docs/2013%20State%20of%20State.pdf Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Community Colleges -- Invest $16.5 million in equipment and technology related to workforce development programs at our technology centers and community colleges. -- Fund a new technical education complex at Northeast State Community College in the Tri Cities that will be directly tied to advanced manufacturing in the region. -- Build a much-needed multi-purpose classroom and lab building at Nashville State Community College. Economic/Workforce Development - Public/Private Partnerships -- Open a new state-of-the-art technology center in Smyrna that represents a unique public-private partnership with Nissan. The center won't only be committed to training employees to work at Nissan but will teach the skills that other area businesses need as well. Finance -- Committed $9 million over three years to schools in the bottom 5 percent of the state. -- Invest $45 million to build a new Community Health Facility at the University of Memphis for audiology, speech pathology and nursing. Postsecondary Access -- Partner with Western Governors University to establish "WGU Tennessee." It is an on-line, competency-based university that is geared to the 800,000 adult Tennesseans that have some college credit but didn't graduate with an associate or four-year degree. The program is unique because of its competency-based curriculum but also because of an emphasis on mentors who guide those adults through the academic process. -- Supported the The Degree Compass program at Austin Peay University. This program is designed to predict the subjects and majors in which students will be most successful. The model combines hundreds of thousands of past students' grades with current students' transcripts to make an individualized recommendation. It's inspired by companies like Netflix, Amazon and Pandora that tailor their recommendations to what their customers are looking for. Postsecondary Affordability -- Establish an endowment of $35 million using operational reserve funds from the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC). It is designed to provide nearly $2 million each year to support scholarships for "last dollar" scholarship programs such as tnAchieves. These scholarships fill the gaps between students' financial aid and the real costs of college including books, supplies, room and board. Postsecondary Completion -- Raise the number of Tennesseans who earn an associates' degree or higher to 55 percent by 2025. Tonight begins our "drive to 55" – a strategic initiative to have the best trained workforce in America. Postsecondary Finance -- Fully fund, for the first time, the Complete College Act outcomes formula -- Invest nearly $62 million to renovate a four building complex that will house research labs and administrative offices at The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis. Postsecondary Tuition -- Limit tuition increases to no more than 6 percent at four-year schools and no more than 3 percent at two-year schools. School Safety -- Invest $34 million is budgeted to address ongoing capital needs that can be used for increased security measures if local officials decide to do so. Special Populations - Hearing Impaired -- Invest $22 million for a new high school for the Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville. Teacher Compensation -- Invest $35 million for teacher salaries. Technology -- Invest $51 million to assist locals in paying for technology transition upgrades in schools across the state – a substantial and strategic investment in our schools. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Charter Schools -- Expanded charter schools to eliminate the cap. Finance -- Increased state education spending by almost 12 percent - the second largest increase in state K-12 expenditures of all 50 states in fiscal year 2012. -- Fully funded the Basic Education Program the past two years and are doing so again this year. -- Committed $38 million over three years to schools in the bottom 5 percent of the state. This year we're adding $9 million more. Student Achievement -- Made double-digit gains in high school graduation rates and the largest aggregate gains ever in the TCAP testing scores last year. Teacher Tenure -- Addressed tenure so that a principal doesn't have to decide after three years to either fire a teacher or grant tenure. There is now a five year time period for the principal to use data more effectively to assess a teacher's performance and then allow time to give that teacher the additional support that he or she needs to improve to earn tenure. Full Text: http://www.tn.gov/stateofthestate/files/2013/01-28-13%20State%20of%20the%20State%20Address%20-%20FINAL.pdf Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Continue to fully invest in the growing schools STEM -- Invest $20 million for STEM education. Eight state institutions of higher learning are reprioritizing their budgets to match that funding dollar for dollar. Technology -- Continue to provide our students critical tools like computer adaptive testing and other technologies, across all grade levels and socioeconomic strata. Teacher Evaluations/Performance Pay -- Support continued implementation of teacher evaluation and performance pay. ACCOMPLISHMENTS At-risk Students - Individual Instruction -- Invested millions in enhanced individualized instruction and help for at-risk children. Finance -- Increased per pupil spending. Postsecondary Finance -- Invested millions more in higher education, including applied technology colleges. Student Achievement -- National average Advanced Placement test score is 2.84. Utah's is 3.1. More than 27,000 students prepare for college through concurrent enrollment, and compared to other states with a high percentage of students taking the ACT, Utah ranks second in test scores. Teacher Benefits -- Covered the increased cost of healthcare for teachers. Full Text: http://www.utah.gov/governor/docs/stateofstate/2013StateoftheStateAddress.pdf Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's 2013 State of the Commonwealth Address PROPOSALS Accountability -- Create an A-F school ranking scale to empower parents and students to demand excellence -- Establish a statewide Opportunity Educational Institution to provide a high quality education alternative for children attending any chronically underperforming public elementary or secondary school. The Opportunity Educational Institution will be a new statewide school division to turnaround failing schools. If a school is consistently failing, the Opportunity Educational Institution will step in to manage it. If the school has failed for two years, the Institution can take it over and provide a brand new approach to a broken system. Choice of Schools -- Pass a Constitutional amendment to allow the state Board of Education to authorize charter applicants. -- Eliminate the requirement that local school boards who originate a charter school application must first apply for authorization from the state Board of Education. Finance -- Add another $50 million to more than double our rainy day fund from $304 million to nearly $740 million by the end of this biennium Reading/Literacy -- place one reading specialist in each school that scores below 75% in the 3rd grade Standard of Learning test Special Education -- fully fund the state share for staffing standards for blind and visually impaired students Teaching Quality -- recruit, incentivize, retain and reward excellent teachers and treat them like the professionals that they are. Give teachers their first state supported pay raise since 200. Budget amendments provide over $58 million for a 2% pay raise for all SOQ [standards of quality] funded instructional personnel. --Implement the Educator Fairness Act to streamline the bureaucratic grievance procedure to benefit teachers and principals. Extend the probationary period for new teachers from three to five years, and require a satisfactory performance rating as demonstrated through the new performance evaluation system to keep a continuing contract. -- Provide funding to support new teachers who teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics in our middle and high schools -- Provide $15 million for school districts to reward their well-performing educators. This strategic compensation plan based on a model developed in the Salem school system will be implemented through local guidelines that best fit each school division's unique characteristics -- Start the Teach for America program in the Commonwealth. -- Propose a new method to obtain waivers from bureaucratic red tape, putting the algebra readiness and early reading intervention initiatives into the SOQ, and expand character education and youth development programs. Postsecondary -- Make college more affordable and accessible by increasing TAG grants from $2800 to $3100 per student. This will benefit up to 21,000 Virginians. Target an additional $31 million for our public colleges and universities to continue to add more slots for in-state students, and bring tuition rate increases down. I've asked our college presidents and boards to further increase operating efficiencies and keep 2013 tuition increases for in-state students to no more than the CPI to help lower student debt. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Finance -- Three years ago, we closed a cumulative budget shortfall of $6 billion, without raising taxes. The results: Three consecutive budget surpluses, totaling $1.4 billion. -- Audited multiple state agencies, finding over $1 billion dollars and bolstering efficiency. We eliminated and consolidated dozens of boards, commissions, agencies and programs -- Increased the percentage of K-12 funding going into the classroom from 62% to 64% -- Reformed and stabilized the Virginia Retirement System. While other states march towards pension insolvency, we put the most new funding in history in the system, and our reforms will reduce the system's total unfunded liabilities $9 billion by 2031. Postsecondary and Economic Development Our 2011 landmark "Top Jobs for the 21st Century" higher education reform legislation has made the college dream more affordable and accessible. Our bold statutory goal of 100,000 new degrees over the next 15 years, with a focus on STEM-H degrees, is supported by more than $350 million for higher education over three years. Over the past two years we've added over 3,800 slots for undergraduate in-state students, and tuition increases this year averaged 4%, after a decade of double digit increases. High School -- Graduation rates are up. The statewide dropout rate has fallen by more than 25 percent. Reading/Literacy Ended social promotion to 4th grade if students cannot read well School Safety -- Established a School and Campus Safety Task Force to review all security policies in effect in our schools and colleges, and to make initial recommendations by January 31st. STEM There are now more STEM teachers and programs and less bureaucracy. Full text: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/news/viewRelease.cfm?id=1591 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's 2013 State of the State Address PROPOSALS Accountability -- Reward and replicate success—all across the state. Lay out plans in the budget to provide a financial incentive for high-performing and rapidly improving schools.   -- At the same time, outline a plan to help failing schools fundamentally change their structure and dramatically improve their results.  Our goal is to help each school excel, so every child in the state has access to a great education.   Reading/Literacy -- Again this year, I challenge each of you to join with me and find some time to mentor a student in reading.    ACCOMPLISHMENTS Accountability--Reporting --Released the first report card evaluating each school in the state.   Economic/Workforce Development -- Worked with the University of Wisconsin System on a new flexible degree program called UW FlexOption to help adult learners earn degrees in targeted fields. The UW FlexOption will provide a less time-consuming, less costly way to finish off a degree.  It will help prepare more people to fill the critical needs we have in the workforce.  -- Partnered with the Wisconsin Covenant Foundation to provide grants to technical colleges and employers in various regions to improve workforce development.  Finance -- Reforms gave schools and local governments flexibility to make management choices to improve their communities, while saving money.  For example, technical schools are saving millions of dollars by making simple, common sense changes to instructor schedules and overtime policies.  Reading/Literacy -- Funds in the last budget provided reading screeners to assess kids as they come into kindergarten. -- Put in place a series of other important reforms to improve our early childhood and elementary school reading skills. One other great way to help improve reading skills is by increasing the number of people who read to our kids. Last year, I challenged all of us to mentor a child as a reading buddy.    Teaching Quality --The reforms we enacted over the past two years saved school districts hundreds of millions of dollars and allowed each district to hire based on merit and pay based on performance. Full text: http://165.189.60.210/Default.aspx?Page=b5a8a449-5df3-49fa-af83-6eb2e3fdbb86 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