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 3 Accountability--Rewards 2 Accountability--School Improvement 3 Assessment--High Stakes/Competency 1 At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) 6 Attendance 2 Bilingual/ESL 1 Business Involvement 3 Career/Technical Education 4 Choice of Schools 4 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 Counseling/Guidance 1 Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language 1 Curriculum--Mathematics 1 Economic/Workforce Development 19 Finance 24 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 3 Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses 1 P-16 or P-20 1 P-3 4 P-3 Child Care 1 P-3 Early Intervention (0-3) 1 P-3 Finance 1 P-3 Kindergarten 4 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten 2 P-3 Preschool 16 Parent/Family 1 Postsecondary 5 Postsecondary Affordability 5 Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid 6 Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees 3 Postsecondary Finance 12 Postsecondary Finance--Efficiency/Performance-Based Funding 7 Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- Fund education above inflation and enrollment. Finance - Funding Formula -- Ensure that there is a school finance formula that offers equity to all districts. P-3 - Preschool/Kindergarten -- Serve up to 6,500 new kindergartners and preschoolers. Postsecondary - Finance -- Adopt a need-based financial allocation process to support Coloradans with the highest need and incentivizes retention and timely completion. Teacher Preparation -- Continue to build the best educator pipeline in the country and attract the best and brightest people to enter teaching. Teacher Retention -- Find new ways to retain and reward current teachers. ACCOMPLISHMENTS P-3 - Reading/Literacy -- Passed an early childhood literacy program (The Read Act) which identifies struggling readers early and provides interventions so that all children can read by the end of third grade. Finance - Federal -- Received a $29.9 million "Race to the Top" grant to support early childhood education and enhance early literacy. Full Text: http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=GovHickenlooper%2FCBONLayout&cid=1251638211880&pagename=CBONWrapper 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   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 North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Finance -- End the dependence on local property tax in the new integrated funding formula. Offer a permanent property tax reform, reducing the average mill levy from 190 mills to 60 mills. Postsecondary Performance-Based Funding -- Institute a new model for distributing state funds based on per-student credit hours completed to the eleven university campuses Credit hours are adjusted to reflect the added costs of certain programs and the added costs of advanced levels of study. It pays only for courses completed, and not for initial class enrollments. -- Invest $150 million in one-time capital improvement projects throughout the university system. Postsecondary - Students Scholarships -- Encourage the legislature to increase both the state's merit-based and needs-based scholarship programs. ACCOMPLISHMENTS --N/A Full Text: http://governor.nd.gov/events/2013-state-state-address Ohio Governor John R. Kasich's State of the State Address PROPOSALS Choice/P-3 Kindergarten -- Expand school choice for kindergartners who live in poverty. Finance -- Provides a total of $1.2 billion in new funds over the next two years. Ohio will be providing more in state aid to its K-12 system than they received at the height of the one-time federal stimulus money in 2011. -- Implement the school funding plan. Ohio's poorest and urban districts will get a bigger share of overall school funding than the wealthiest districts. They also get more per pupil before funding guarantees are factored in. Additionally, the poorest schools in Ohio receive $1.1 billion while the wealthiest receive less than half of that. The very poorest district will receive $7,500 per pupil-- $7,500 per pupil in the very poorest district – and the wealthiest will receive $110. The plan applies equally to all districts based on their property tax wealth and residents' income, as well as the individual characteristics of the students they serve. Vocational Education -- Give a a 16 percent increase to vocational education. -- Beef up the academics in those vocational schools ACCOMPLISHMENTS Accountability - Reporting Results -- Created the A through F Report Card, and also a building-by-building comparison. Choice -- Expanded school choice for parents with children in failing schools. Postsecondary - Performance Funding -- 50 percent of the money 4-yr universities receive from the state to run operations will to them upon a student's graduation, not on enrollment. Reimburse community colleges when students complete a courses. Reading/Literacy -- Enacted Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Full Text: http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Portals/0/2013%20State%20of%20the%20State%20Transcript.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/ Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin's Second Inaugural Address PROPOSALS Career Readiness -- Focus the education of children - from grade school through college - on career readiness. -- Encourage schools to develop Personal Learning Plans that travel with each student from elementary through their senior year. These plans would help guide each student's education and also tie educational goals to career opportunities, making school more relevant. The key to this proposal is to increase our students' individual options while fostering a connection between school and career.    Health, At-Risk Students --Cover the shortfall left by the federal government, and makes free lunch available for all low-income students, including those who are currently only eligible for reduced prices. Whenever possible, these lunches should be made from local Vermont farm grown food, since we know that Vermont farmers grow the healthiest food in the nation. Mathematics -- Require that all 9th graders take algebra and all 10th graders take geometry. Dual Enrollment and Early College -- Over the past five years, state funding has provided limited access to Vermont high school students to get a head start on gaining expensive college credit by enrolling in for-credit college courses while they are in high school. Doubling the funding to expand access to all Vermont students. -- Authorize an early college initiative aimed at expanding (from 40) the number of students who simultaneously complete their senior year of high school with their first year of college. P-3 -- Strengthen commitment to funding universal early childhood education.  -- Make the largest single investment in early childhood education in Vermont's history. Redirect $17 million from the state's Earned Income Tax Credit to make high quality childcare affordable to hardworking lower-income Vermonters.  -- Ensure financial support to communities that initiate publicly funded preschool programs where they do not now exist. Provide resources for first year start up costs, after which communities offering pre-school programs will be eligible for reimbursement through the education fund. -- Invite all early childhood stakeholders to a summit to build and embrace our vision for the success of our children and their families. -- Direct the Agency of Human Services to implement an integrated plan for health promotion and prevention, beginning before birth, to ensure that all children reach their full potential. -- Do more to ensure that all our children are healthy and prepared to learn by providing pediatric, psychological, dental, nutrition and pre-school services on site.    Postsecondary Participation and Economic Development -- Address affordability with new vigor, particularly for those students who pursue degrees in the disciplines of the new economy. -- Initiate the Vermont Strong Scholars Program. It's a simple program, and here's how it works: if you enroll in any public institution of higher education in the state of Vermont and graduate with a degree in a STEM field, we will give you a helping hand to stay and work in Vermont by paying you back, over the course of five years, for your final year of tuition. Or if you graduate with an Associate's Degree in a STEM field, we will pay you back over three years for your final semester of tuition. -- Increase the state's appropriation for the Vermont State Colleges, VSAC, and UVM by three percent, to be used entirely for financial aid and scholarships for Vermonters.   -- Identify savings to guarantee affordability for students and their families and the survival of UVM and our State Colleges. -- Implement the eleven recommendations of the group I appointed last year to find ways to strengthen UVM and the State Colleges.   -- Utilize the 17 career and technical education centers around the state that provide opportunities for students and adults who need to update skills to advance their earning power. Use the centers as the foundation for Vermont Innovation Zones throughout the state. Our current funding system does not encourage centers to match the needs of regional employers.  These Innovation Zones will focus on areas of education and professional opportunity that fit the needs of their region. high schools and tech centers in the Kingdom would become an Innovation Zone and would be able to shift current generic course requirements to focus on those that provide the training the region needs. For example, the Kingdom may choose to focus heavily on engineering, hospitality, and health care courses that would result in Kingdom jobs for Kingdom kids.    Business Involvement --Call on employers to engage with the educational system at all levels. Open your businesses to our schools. Let our students interact with your employees, so they can see how they use their education every day.  Invite teachers and guidance councilors in to experience a deeper understanding of what their students need to succeed.  Engage high school and college interns. And provide opportunities for your employees to go back and further their education. ACCOMPLISHMENTS --N/A Postsecondary Finance--Facilities 1 Postsecondary Institutions 1 Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges 3 Postsecondary Online Instruction 1 Postsecondary Participation--Access 3 Postsecondary Success--Completion 4 Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation 1 Reading/Literacy 13 Scheduling/School Calendar 2 Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs 1 School Safety 9 Service-Learning 1 Special Education 4 Special Populations 1 Special Populations--Military 3 Standards 1 State Longitudinal Data Systems 1 State Policymaking 6 State Policymaking--Task Forces/Commissions 5 STEM 5 Student Achievement 5 Teaching Quality 5 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Alternative 1 Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Natl. Bd. for Prof. Teach. Stds. 1 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay 5 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Pay-for-Performance 7 Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Retirement/Benefits 3 Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness 5 Teaching Quality--Preparation 3 Teaching Quality--Professional Development 1 Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention 7 Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract 3 Technology 5 Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware 1 Youth Engagement 1 323