School choice was a central point of disagreement, with Republican governors more likely to advocate for increased use of public funds for private schooling. A subset of Republican governors also focused on restricting transgender participation in women’s sports. Some Democratic governors fervently criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement for conducting raids in and around schools.

But governors from both parties prioritized improving student achievement — especially in literacy — and increasing funding for public education and teacher pay. School nutrition emerged as a newly prominent area of shared focus. 

School Choice

Thirteen governors — all Republicans except for Arizona’s Katie Hobbs — referenced school choice in their speeches, with the vast majority promoting the use of public dollars for private education. 

Several governors advocated for expansion of their state’s private school choice programs, either by increasing funding or by broadening eligibility for participation. Missouri’s governor, Mike Kehoe, for example, proposed investing an additional $10 million in the MO Scholars Program. By contrast, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster focused on eligibility, calling for universal access to the state’s education scholarship trust fund, which is currently limited to low-income families. 

Three governors announced that they will opt in to the new federal tax credit scholarship program. South Dakota’s Larry Rhoden praised the program and said the state will work with private school, public school and homeschool leaders to prepare for implementation in January 2027.

Other governors highlighted the need for more guardrails in private school choice programs. Hobbs continued to call for increased oversight of Arizona’s universal ESA program, arguing that a program originally designed to support students with disabilities and military families

has become vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse, while Idaho’s Brad Little called for greater accountability in his state’s choice program.

Meanwhile, Kehoe and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who are both Republicans, urged state lawmakers to support more choices for students within public education. Kehoe set aside $7.5 million for open school district enrollment, and Iowa’s Kim Reynolds proposed that per-pupil funding follow students to charter schools. 

Higher Education

Twenty-two governors discussed higher education priorities, largely centered on financial aid and affordability. Colorado’s Jared Polis continued his commitment to making the first two years at the state’s public colleges free for low-income high school graduates, and Indiana’s Mike Braun announced a freeze on tuition and mandatory fees at every public university for the next two years.

Others proposed targeted scholarships. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen promised that every in-state student who scores a 33 or better on the ACT will receive a full scholarship, including housing, to the University of Nebraska. Georgia’s Brian Kemp proposed a $325 million investment in the state university’s needs-based DREAMS Scholarships.

Five governors proposed health sector-related higher education initiatives. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the construction and endowment of a new medical school. Idaho’s Little committed $1 million to support graduate medical education, while Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear proposed $25 million for nursing student loan forgiveness. 

Workforce Development

Looking beyond traditional post-secondary pathways, 15 governors highlighted workforce development initiatives and the importance of aligning career and technical education with the demands of a dynamic job market. 

Both Republican and Democratic governors proposed expanding K-12 and postsecondary programs that connect students to apprenticeships in skilled trades, health care, education and technology. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, who proposed construction apprenticeships directly tied to affordable housing initiatives and partnerships between schools and nonprofits to train the next generation of climate stewards — key priorities for the state.

Kehoe announced support for a specific trade: pet grooming. His budget includes funding for expanding a Kansas City nonprofit called Pawsperity, which he said has helped 200 low-income students achieve financial stability through a stable career.

The governors of Colorado and South Dakota called for stronger state-level coordination, proposing new agencies to track workforce readiness and expand access to CTE.

Early Learning/Child Care

In line with initiatives to strengthen the workforce, 20 governors — Democrats and Republicans — proposed expanding early care and learning to increase access and affordability for working parents. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged to fully fund New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s universal child care program for 2-year-olds for its first two years, while Grisham called for universal child care statewide in New Mexico. 

Seven governors — six Democrats and South Carolina’s McMaster — highlighted continued or new commitments to universal pre-K, while others suggested incremental expansions to early learning. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, for example, proposed using private investment to add 10,000 new seats in free early learning programs statewide, and Indiana’s Mike Braun suggested requiring businesses to have “skin in the game” to help reduce child care costs and expand access. 

Student Health

In last year’s addresses, several governors — predominantly Republicans — announced plans to ban cellphones in schools, with many framing the policies as necessary to protect students’ mental and behavioral health. 

This year, six Democrats and three Republicans proposed similar restrictions, though many emphasized improving student learning as the primary rationale. Kansas’s Laura Kelly, for example, proposed a school cellphone ban because the devices “are making it much harder for our children to learn and for our teachers to teach.” 

Still, student mental health was a concern, particularly regarding online safety. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned parents about artificial intelligence chatbots, citing concerns about their connection to teen suicides. Democratic governors in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts proposed restrictions on social media use for children — Hochul’s plan includes disabling AI chatbots, blocking location sharing and restricting access to online sports gambling.

Notably, only two governors, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro and Wisconsin’s Tony Evers, proposed new investments in K-12 mental health services.

School Nutrition

Nutrition and school meals emerged as a new priority in this year’s addresses, with many governors referencing the Trump administration’s campaign to improve food quality and wellness nationwide. Ten governors, both Democratic and Republican, introduced initiatives aimed at improving student nutrition. 

Kansas’ Kelly proposed making school meals free for all students now eligible for reduced pricing, and Hawaii’s Green extended free school meals to families at 300% of the federal poverty level.

Regarding the food itself, Little proposed a bill to remove artificial dye from school lunches, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom encouraged the continuation of efforts to remove highly processed foods from school cafeterias. Despite tightening restrictions, no alternatives or funding for healthier food were proposed. 

Three Republican governors, citing health concerns such as obesity, proposed removing candy, soda, energy drinks and other unhealthy foods from programs that provide federal subsidies for students when school is not in session: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT).      

This report was produced through a partnership between and ����Ӱ��. Senior Producer Meghan Gallagher of ����Ӱ�� developed the interactive maps. 

FutureEd analyzed speeches from 41 governors to identify states’ education agendas for the coming year, highlighting common themes, bipartisan commitments and partisan divides. Across party lines, governors remained committed to investing in public education, with many proposing increased K-12 funding and efforts to modernize school finance formulas to better support high-need students. Alongside these general financial commitments, governors prioritized strengthening the teaching profession, addressing youth mental health, restricting cellphone use and expanding career pathways for high schoolers. 

Still, few governors proposed new steps to directly improve student learning. Some emphasized efforts to raise academic standards and strengthen accountability, topics absent in recent years. But this year’s speeches largely sidelined new curriculum initiatives, perhaps because many states have enacted reforms in that area — particularly in literacy — in recent years. Mentions of academic acceleration programs that were widely supported during the pandemic but now face an uncertain future as federal ESSER funds expire were also rare. These include high-dosage tutoring, afterschool and summer enrichment. Some governors argued that their school choice initiatives would improve student outcomes. 

School choice remained a key point of division, with several Republican governors advocating for more private options that Democrats opposed. Ideological divides also resurfaced on race and gender — topics largely absent from speeches in recent years — as a few Republicans called for banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, restricting transgender participation in sports and opposing what they described as “indoctrination” and “woke agendas” in education.

Here is a summary of the major education proposals in the governors’ addresses (click on each state in the interactive maps below): 

Student Well-Being

One of the most popular topics this year was student well-being, with a focus on mental health, technology use, school meals and safety. While youth mental health remains a top concern — highlighted by 15 governors — many are shifting from traditional investments in counseling and school-based services to restrictions on cellphones and social media.

Concerns over technology’s impact on student mental health are growing. As Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted in her annual address, “Suicide rates among teens have tripled, self-harm among girls has risen by nearly 200%, and depression among teenagers has increased by 150%. The culprit is clear: unrestricted access to phones and social media.” Huckabee Sanders and the leaders of at least 12 other states, mostly Republican-led, proposed bans on phones in schools, with most citing mental and behavioral health concerns. Governors also pushed for stronger internet safety measures and social media restrictions.

In New York, Democrat Kathy Hochul has taken a different approach with her “Unplug and Play” initiative, which expands outdoor and extracurricular opportunities to reduce children’s reliance on social media. She also called for shielding students from the risks posed by artificial intelligence. 

While cell phone and social media restrictions have gained some bipartisan traction, major investments in school-based mental health are largely a Democratic priority this year. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, for example, proposed nearly $300 million to expand mental health services, including suicide-prevention programs and educator training.

To address students’ nutritional needs, Democratic governors in Maine, Kansas, New York and Wisconsin proposed expanding free school meals. On the Republican side, Huckabee Sanders introduced the Buy Local Act to encourage schools to purchase their food in state and proposed using medical marijuana revenue for meal funding, and North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong pledged to expand his state’s Farm-to-School program. 

Governors from six states — Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, New Mexico and South Carolina — proposed school safety efforts. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun plans to establish an Office of School Safety, Gov. Henry McMaster wants to fund school resource officers in every South Carolina school and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is pursuing legislation requiring regular safety planning meetings and incident reporting.

School Choice

School choice remains a key topic this year, with 15 governors addressing the issue. While initiatives to let families use public money for private schooling dominated the discussion, several governors proposed expanding public-school choice, sometimes alongside private-school initiatives.

Proposals largely followed party lines. Nine Republican governors advocated for expanding education savings accounts and other private school-choice initiatives. McMaster aims to pass new ESA legislation and allocate $30 million after the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the state’s previous program unconstitutional.

Braun seeks to make private school choice available to every student in Indiana, while Kehoe proposes adding $50 million in state funding to supplement a tax credit-funded ESA program. Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin is requesting $50 million for “Opportunity Scholarships” for low-income families, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is renewing his push for a long-debated universal school choice measure. 

In the wake of widespread criticism of Arizona’s costly education savings account program and its lack of transparency on spending and student performance, some Republicans emphasized stronger oversight and protections for public school funding in their proposals. Idaho’s Brad Little stressed the need for a “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable” approach that prioritizes families in need without diverting funds from public schools. Governors in South Dakota and Virginia also emphasized safeguarding public school resources.

Meanwhile, three Democratic governors — Arizona’s Katie Hobbs, Kansas’s Laura Kelly and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear — expressed opposition to using public funds for private education. Hobbs is once again seeking to add guardrails to Arizona’s universal ESA program, which was enacted by her Republican predecessor. These include setting income caps and ensuring transparency in spending. Kelly and Beshear vowed to block new private school choice initiatives.

At the same time, six governors from both parties are pushing to expand public-school choice. Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis voiced support for giving parents more options and making it easier for high-quality and innovative schools to open.

Republicans Joe Lombardo of Nevada and Kehoe supported allowing students to attend public schools outside their assigned attendance zone. Armstrong proposed a new policy that would allow charters to open in North Dakota.

Higher Education

Fifteen governors outlined higher education priorities focused on affordability, workforce alignment and alternative pathways. McMaster pledged to freeze in-state tuition for a sixth year and is seeking $80 million in financial aid to ensure all eligible students receive state assistance. Hochul proposed free community college for New York students entering high-demand fields like advanced manufacturing, education and health care.

Several states are expanding access through alternative postsecondary pathways. Huckabee Sanders launched the ACCESS initiative, which, among other things, will expand scholarships to include associate degrees and non-degree programs, and fund college credits for high school students. Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee plans to fund dual enrollment, allowing high school students to earn college credit. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is similarly focused on adding more dual-enrollment and “stackable” credentials. 

Huckabee Sanders and Abbott proposed banning DEI programs and preventing “indoctrination” from professors. “We must purge it from every corner of our schools and return the focus to merit,” said Abbott of the state’s public universities.

Early Education and Child Care

Thirteen governors highlighted early childhood education and care, focusing on expanding access, improving affordability and addressing workforce challenges.

Democratic governors in New York, New Mexico and Kentucky promoted universal early childhood programs. Arizona Democrat Hobbs was among five state leaders from both parties who prioritized affordability, proposing the Working Families Child Care Act to lower the cost of care by two-thirds. Kehoe, a Republican, proposed a $10 million grant program to foster partnerships among Missouri employers, community organizations and child-care providers to expand access through collaborative solutions.

In Iowa, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds introduced a continuum-of-care initiative to integrate preschool and child-care services, offering grants to providers that coordinate resources like shared staffing and transportation.

Several state leaders also addressed child care workforce shortages. Gov. Bill Lee proposed expanding eligibility for Tennessee’s WAGES program that provides early childhood educators with annual salary supplements of up to $7,800 based on their education level, while Reynolds launched a statewide fund to encourage donations from individuals and businesses to support child care worker wages.

Workforce Development and Career Education

Twelve governors highlighted workforce development and career education, focusing on expanding high school career training, strengthening industry partnerships and aligning postsecondary programs with workforce needs. More than half of these efforts target K-12 students.

Several states are prioritizing career training in high schools. In Indiana, Braun plans to expand partnerships between employers and high schools, while Connecticut’s Lamont is expanding the state’s youth service corps, offering students internships or paid apprenticeships at local businesses. Lee seeks to double participation in Tennessee’s Youth Employment Program, making it year-round to provide meaningful work experience, particularly for underserved communities. Kehoe wants a $1 million investment to expand high school career counseling and launched the Governor’s Workforce of the Future Challenge to improve coordination among K-12 schools, businesses and colleges. Youngkin is expanding “lab school” partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities specializing in health care, coding, space, maritime industries and teaching.

Other governors are focusing on postsecondary workforce training. McMaster is requesting $95 million in lottery funds for Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships through South Carolina’s technical college system. Lee has proposed the Tennessee Works Scholarship, which would cover tuition, fees and essential resources for students at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology. And McKee introduced Ready to Build, a career and technical education program at the Community College of Rhode Island, designed to create a pre-apprenticeship pathway into building trades jobs.

The Teaching Profession

A dozen governors discussed initiatives to improve the teaching profession, with most emphasizing higher teacher pay. Eight — primarily Republicans — proposed salary increases. McMaster accelerated the state’s plan to set a $50,000 minimum salary, moving the target from 2026 to this year. Braun aims to raise the minimum salary in Indiana by $5,000, bringing it to $45,000. 

At least two states are prioritizing pay increases for top-performing teachers. Abbott seeks to boost average teacher pay to a “record high” while expanding the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment program, which allows top educators to earn six-figure salaries. Similarly, Nevada’s Lombardo plans to reward high-performing teachers through the Excellence in Education Fund under the Nevada Accountability in Education Act. Beshear was the only Democrat to mention teacher pay.

Democrats Lamont and Wes Moore of Maryland proposed expanding affordable, debt-free pathways into teaching through apprenticeships and other means. 

Student Learning 

Only 10 governors discussed curriculum and instruction initiatives for the upcoming year. Among them, Reynolds proposed one of the few major policy pushes: a comprehensive math bill aimed at identifying struggling students, providing personalized support and strengthening instruction through evidence-based professional development and high-quality teacher preparation.

Lombardo proposed the Nevada Accountability in Education Act, a comprehensive initiative that would, among other things, demand “stricter accountability, equity and excellence”, focus on literacy and direct resources to struggling schools. He didn’t detail how he planned to increase accountability for student results. 

Nevada is one of seven states, along with Oregon, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan and Massachusetts, prioritizing standards and accountability this year. Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek committed to making school and district accountability a central focus of her 2025 agenda, proposing to increase transparency through a statewide, publicly accessible student information system, while Mississippi Republican Tate Reeves proposed raising academic standards and overhauling the state’s school grading system. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has proposed the Students, Metrics and Results with Transparency (SMART) plan, which would direct investments toward underperforming schools and improve transparency to better inform parents about student performance.

In Massachusetts, which recently eliminated its graduation assessment requirement, Democrat Maura Healey called for a Statewide Graduation Requirement Council to establish a new high standard. “Students, families and employers need to know what a diploma represents,” she stated. 

Additionally, three Democratic governors emphasized investments in expanded learning time. McKee proposed $2.5 million in grants for out-of-school learning in Rhode Island, Kotek aims to continue funding summer programs and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants to expand summer literacy initiatives. 

Meghan Gallagher of ����Ӱ�� developed the interactive maps. FutureEd Research Associate Tony Tao contributed to this analysis. 

Although a handful of education issues still divide governors along partisan lines, such as whether to establish universal pre-kindergarten programs or allocate public funds for private schooling, governors from both parties want to increase teacher pay and target incentives to shortage areas, expand access to higher education and promote college and career readiness in high school. In some instances, they backed priorities that traditionally have been linked to their political opponents, with Republicans proposing initiatives to address youth mental health and Democrats supporting the expansion of reading reform.  

But governors from both parties gave short shrift to one the most pressing problems facing local school leaders: sharply higher rates of in the wake of the pandemic. Neither Democrats nor Republicans outlined new steps to spur students’ return to school.  

The states’ chief executives concentrated their 2024 education policy priorities in seven areas: child care and early learning, the teaching profession, school choice, curriculum and instruction, student mental health, higher education and workforce development.

Child Care and Early Learning

Early learning and child care were a bipartisan priority, with 17 governors proposing measures to enhance accessibility and affordability for working parents. 

Democratic governors in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, New Jersey and Michigan championed statewide universal pre-K, while Maura Healey of Massachusetts proposed the strategy for 26 facing social and economic challenges. Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly proposed the largest single-year investment in the state’s early childhood system, while the governors of Missouri, West Virginia, Nebraska and Hawaii proposed new or expanded child care tax credits. 

The Teaching Profession

Echoing a trend from last year, governors are seeking to strengthen the ranks of public school teaching by increasing compensation, addressing shortages and expanding recruitment — three closely connected strategies. Twenty-one governors have proposed such initiatives.

While both Republicans and Democrats addressed the issue in their speeches, most concrete proposals to raise teacher pay came from Republicans in Southern and Western states, which are less unionized and where salaries tend to be lower. In more-unionized, Democratic-leaning states, proposals were generally more focused on recruiting and retaining educators. 

Democrat Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Republican Jim Justice of West Virginia proposed across-the-board 5% pay raises for teachers in their states. South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster called for raising the starting salary to $45,000 from $40,000 by 2025 and further raising it to $50,000 by 2026. Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds urged the legislature to allocate an additional $96 million, to raise starting pay to $50,000 a year — a 50% increase; establish a minimum salary of $62,000 for teachers with at least 12 years’ experience; and allocate $10 million for a merit-based grant program for educators.

Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy pitched a three-year incentive program that would offer hiring and retention bonuses ranging from $5,000 for teachers in urban areas to $15,000 for those working in rural schools. Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee announced plans to increase paraeducator pay and create incentives for more teachers to serve special-education students. Missouri Republican Gov. Michael Parson proposed an additional $6 million for the state’s teacher Career Ladder Program, a performance-based pay matching initiative — on top of new funds to raise starting teacher salaries to $40,000 statewide. 

Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced plans to launch a teacher apprenticeship program, and Kentucky’s Education First Plan provides funding for a teacher loan-forgiveness program.

Some governors are also looking for ways to lower regulatory hurdles to teaching. In Nebraska, Republican Jim Pillen proposed lowering “barriers for potential teachers to enter the workforce” by, among other things, allowing licensure reciprocity for teachers from other states. 

School Choice

School choice initiatives, particularly those involving private school options, emerged as one of the few starkly partisan issues in this year’s speeches. While both Democrats and Republicans offered charter school and public school choice initiatives, six Republicans advocated for vouchers and education savings accounts, while two Democrats strongly opposed such measures.

Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey announced legislation that would eventually provide $7,000 for every student to spend on private education, calling it her “No. 1 legislative priority.” Similarly, Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee expressed support for universal private school choice through what he called “education freedom” accounts, as he in November. If they succeed, Alabama and Tennessee will join with universal or near-universal private school choice programs. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp also pledged to push through private school choice this year.

Democrats, on the other hand, attacked public funding of private schooling. “I will continue to reject vouchers and any attempt to send public education dollars to private schools,” declared Kansas’s Laura Kelly. “Vouchers will crush our rural schools, plain and simple.” In Arizona, where Republican state leaders enacted universal education savings accounts with few limitations on the use of the funding and few reporting mandates, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs pledged to work for greater accountability, as well as a requirement for students in the program to have attended public schools for at least 100 days before they can use an education savings account. Otherwise, Hobbs said, “the current projected price tag of $1 billion is only the start.”

In a departure from last year’s addresses, several governors pledged new support for public charter schools. Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little announced plans to introduce legislation “to cut more red tape to support charter schools while providing taxpayers transparency,” as a way of expanding school choice without diverting resources from public schools. Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis pledged to provide charter schools their full share of public education funding. And Oklahoma’s Kevin Stitt, a Republican, proposed moving high-performing charter schools into vacant public school buildings, especially in communities with underperforming district schools.  

Curriculum and Instruction

Governors signed a wave of literacy-reform legislation in 2023 rooted in the science of reading, and the leaders of nine states, both blue and red, have pledged similar initiatives this year. Healey, of Massachusetts, announced Literacy Launch, a $30 million to ensure that districts have high-quality curriculum and teacher training tied to the science of reading. New York’s Hochul called for legislation mandating evidence-based reading instruction and to train 20,000 teachers. 

New Mexico Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham announced plans for a $30 million statewide literacy institute and a free summer reading program for 10,000 students. And Iowa’s Reynolds proposed requiring education majors to pass a test of reading instruction as a way to hold education schools accountable for teaching the science of reading and ensure graduates’ competence in early literacy instruction for teacher licensure.

Other curricular initiatives were also sprinkled among the governors’ addresses, including a $10 million investment in math education in South Carolina; a proposal by North Dakota Republican Gov.Doug Burgum to require financial literacy instruction; Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s proposal to require computer science for high school graduation; and Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to assemble toolkits on digital literacy and critical thinking to help students discern fact from fiction.

Student Mental Health

Eleven governors on both sides of the aisle addressed student mental health and youth behavioral concerns, supporting both school and community-based approaches. In Idaho, Little proposed a statewide student behavioral health initiative and doubled funding for school advisers. Reynolds proposed a new youth behavioral health facility. And Evers and Hochul pledged increased funding for school-based mental health services. 

Hochul was also among the governors who addressed the impact of social media, pledging to advance legislation to safeguard children’s privacy online and to regulate the algorithms that target them on social media feeds. Lee of Tennessee pledged to mitigate the negative impact of social media on children by enhancing parental involvement, and Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont announced plans to send guidance to local school boards regarding smartphone and social media use in schools. 

Higher Education

Governors from across the political spectrum proposed steps to improve college access, starting in high school. The leaders of 17 states announced plans to expand dual high school-college enrollment, lower the cost of associate degrees and increase scholarship opportunities. Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed making two years of community college tuition-free for all high school graduates. South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem advocated free tuition for National Guard members at private colleges within the state, building upon last year’s initiative to extend free tuition at state universities. And in South Carolina’s McMaster asked the General Assembly to freeze college tuition for in-state students and increase appropriations to higher-education institutions. 

Some governors are rethinking how their states structure and fund higher education, including two that hope to shift to an outcomes-based model. In Pennsylvania, Shapiro announced a Blueprint for Higher Education that would unite state universities and community colleges under a single governance structure, funded through “a predictable, transparent, outcomes-based funding system.” Oklahoma’s Stitt similarly wants to shift to an outcomes-based model, urging legislators to “stop subsidizing institutions with low enrollment and low graduation rates.” 

Several governors announced investments in evolving and emerging job markets. Arizona’s Hobbs announced plans to expand the state’s medical schools and open new ones, and Democrat Dan McKee of Rhode Island proposed expanding a cybersecurity program into a full-fledged cybersecurity institution. Not surprisingly, governors are looking to higher education to spearhead work on artificial intelligence. New York’s Hochul announced the formation of the Empire AI Consortium, a $400 million research and development network of seven public and private universities. New Jersey Democrat Phil Murphy announced a similar initiative — what he called an . 

Workforce Development 

Fifteen governors from both sides of the aisle argued that college shouldn’t be students’ only postsecondary option and proposed ways to provide alternative pathways after high school. In at least five states, that work begins in high school. Healey wants to increase investments in “innovation pathways” that provide high school students with hands-on, skill-based learning. Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin told legislators that all high school students should graduate with both a diploma and a credential setting them up for high-paying jobs. And Missouri’s Parson proposed allocating $3 million toward expanding youth apprenticeship programs, alongside a $54 million investment in employer-driven education and training.

Some governors want to see specialized high schools focused on career readiness. Alabama’s Ivey asked the legislature to prioritize funding the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences, a residential high school designed to address the medical field’s workforce shortage. The school would offer a unique STEM-focused curriculum, along with hands-on clinical training. 

Hobbs wants to double the number of postsecondary apprenticeships in construction and trades such as plumbing, while Shapiro intends to establish a new Career Connect program to link employers with talented youth, creating thousands of internships over the next decade.

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Meghan Gallagher of ����Ӱ�� developed the interactive maps. FutureEd Research Associate Jingnan Sun contributed to the analysis.

The COVID pandemic — the topic that has dominated education conversations for the past three years — is largely missing from the State of the State addresses that governors are delivering to their legislatures this winter. 

Instead, state leaders are using their bully pulpits to call for bigger investments in early learning and in the transition into the workforce and college. They are supporting better pay for public school teachers while pushing for public money to flow to private schools, which could ultimately make it more difficult to fund public school pay increases. 

FutureEd speeches and partnered with ����Ӱ�� to convert our analysis into a series of interactive maps. We found that despite the academic gaps exposed in last year’s National Assessment for Educational Progress scores, there was surprisingly little talk of learning loss and efforts to catch students up. There was also little explicit “culture war” rhetoric around teaching racial history or banning books — and more lofty talk about the value of education.

“Education is a great equalizer in our society,” said Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in her Feb. 14 address to the Maine legislature. “Every child, regardless of where they live, deserves a world-class education that will prepare them for a successful adulthood.”

Here are some of the topics trending among the nation’s governors this year:

(Click here if you are having trouble viewing maps)

Teaching Profession

The teaching profession was a top priority across party lines, with 24 governors discussing ways to improve pay and support educators. Most of those governors proposed raising salaries, largely in response to shortages in their states but also as a way to recognize the important role teachers play. 

In Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andrew Beshear is supporting an across-the-board 5% pay hike, which he called “both vital and necessary to address Kentucky’s shortage of nearly 11,000 public school teachers.” Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little also pledged to increase salaries — both for starting teachers and for all instructors — by an average of $6,300 annually because “students and their families deserve quality teachers who are respected and compensated competitively.”

South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster took a different approach, offering both salary increases and one-time $2,500 retention bonuses, paid out in two installments. Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin wants to provide retention bonuses as well as $50 million in performance-based compensations. Republican state leaders began supporting teacher pay hikes in response to against low pay in red states in the years before the pandemic — perhaps realizing that many rank-and-file teachers in their states are Republicans, even though teacher unions, favorite Republican political foils, lean left.

Governors also pitched additional strategies to address recruitment and retention challenges. Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is pushing legislation to strengthen the teacher pipeline with loan forgiveness, fellowships and grow-your-own programs. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is proposing grants to help paraprofessionals become teachers. Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is adding $30 million to provide stipends and tuition for student teachers. And in Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced plans to invest more than $20 million in recruiting, developing, and retaining teachers and student teachers.

School Choice

Unlike the bipartisan support for teacher compensation, the school choice proposals in 15 State of the State addresses nearly all came from Republican governors. The only Democratic governor to broach the subject, Arizona’s Katie Hobbs, pledged to provide more accountability for a broad expansion of education savings accounts that her predecessor pushed through the legislature. “Any school that accepts taxpayer dollars should have to abide by the same accountability standards that all district schools do,” she said. 

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed, and has since signed, a measure that would provide nearly $8,000 in state funding to each family who sends their child to a private school — the same amount the state provides for each public school student. “Every parent should have a choice of where to send their child — and that choice shouldn’t be limited to families who can afford it,” she said. Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine proposed expanding eligibility for the state’s voucher program to include middle-class families. He also proposed increasing funding for charter schools.

Some governors emphasized the importance of parents in making educational decisions for their children, including Idaho’s Little, who plans to make permanent a grant program that helps families pay for such educational expenses as computers, instructional materials and tutoring.

While school choice programs open to all students, like those in Iowa and Arizona, are drawing much of the attention — and criticism — this year, governors in Nebraska and South Dakota have focused specifically on children in need, including those in foster care or living in poverty.

Curriculum and Instruction

With support for the “science of reading” sweeping the country, governors are responding with calls for explicit, evidence-based reading instruction. “The evidence is clear. The verdict is in. There is a great deal of research about how we learn to read. And today, we understand the great value and importance of phonics,” said Ohio’s DeWine, one of 11 governors who mentioned literacy in their speeches; altogether, 19 proposed some sort of curriculum initiatives or restrictions.

Some governors, such as Iowa’s Reynolds, are focusing on training teachers to implement reading initiatives. Youngkin called for extending the use of reading specialists under the Virginia Literacy Act to fifth grade.

In Wisconsin, Evers announced a $20 million investment to increase literacy programming and implement evidence-based reading practices. He, along with Youngkin and Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, also proposed investments in high-quality math curricula, training and support. 

In Nevada, Lombardo wants to reinstate a rule holding back students who aren’t reading proficiently, and Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb is proposing to reward schools that improve their third-grade reading results. 

This focus on literacy and academic initiatives marks a big shift from last year, when culture wars and critical race theory were prominent in the State of the State addresses. Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is one of the exceptions, with comments on gender and sexuality. “There is no room in our schools for policies that attempt to undercut parents and require the usage of pronouns or names that fail to correspond with reality,” he said in proposing a Parents’ Bill of Rights requiring schools to “adhere to the will of the parents” on such matters.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott framed his push for education savings accounts as a way to empower parents and to fight “woke agendas” and “indoctrination.” Likewise, West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice voiced support for “parents’ rights” by directing school districts to make all curricula available online, “where we can see every single thing that’s being put into our little kids’ heads.”

In Illinois, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker spoke out against restricting what’s taught in schools, saying it undermines historic investments in education. “It’s all meaningless if we become a nation that bans books from school libraries about racism suffered by Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron, and tells kids they can’t talk about being gay, and signals to Black and brown people and Asian Americans and Jews and Muslims that our authentic stories can’t be told,” he said.

Higher Education

College affordability emerged as a top priority among the 23 governors who mentioned higher education, but their proposed solutions differed across party lines. Governors from both parties called for expanded scholarship programs, but only Republicans — from South Carolina, Utah and Virginia — called for tuition freezes. GOP governors were also the only ones to mention repairing aging campus buildings, with proposed investments ranging from $65 million in Nevada to $275 million in Missouri. 

New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham touted her state’s program that provides free public higher education to all state residents, and Illinois’s Pritzker pledged another $100 million for scholarships helping to make community college free for eligible students. Others pushed for expanded scholarship programs: Arizona’s Hobbs is allocating $40 million to create the Promise for DREAMers Scholarship Program, while North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum is doubling his state’s investment in the Native American Scholarship program. Governors in other states, including Montana, Georgia and Hawaii, emphasized the need for expanded scholarships and programs to encourage students to become health care providers. 

Several governors proposed using these investments to encourage students to stay in their state for college and ideally, for their careers. Indiana’s Holcomb pitched a $184 million increase in higher education funding to reward universities “for keeping their graduates in careers in our state. After all, Indiana’s college campuses need to be the epicenters of brain gain — not brain drain!” Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen offered $39.4 million to fund over 4,200 scholarships for Nebraska students attending school in state.

Workforce Development

At least 29 governors across the political spectrum voiced support for improving students’ career readiness, including through apprenticeships and dual-enrollment programs. 

Virginia’s Youngkin hopes to accelerate dual-enrollment partnerships between high schools and community colleges so that eventually, “every child graduates with an industry recognized credential.” Kentucky’s Beshear announced a $245 million investment to renovate and rebuild career and technical centers in high schools. And Colorado’s Polis argued for career-connected learning in high school. 

Apprenticeships were a large focus, with Iowa’s Reynolds increasing funding for health care apprenticeships, Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson expanding apprenticeships in areas such as information technology and public safety, and Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte doubling the Trades Education Credit. Wisconsin’s Evers is connecting apprenticeships to other initiatives, including through a $10 million investment in clean energy job training and reemployment.

Early Education

Even as Congress failed to fund early care and early education in , 20 governors from both parties made the early years a priority in their speeches. 

Pritzker announced a broad Smart Start Illinois plan to expand access to pre-K and child care, help build new facilities and ramp up home visiting programs for young families. While only Democratic governors — including those in Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and New Mexico — discussed the need for universal pre-K, several Republican governors also advocated for expanding early learning and child care options, particularly better access for kids from low-income families. For example, Missouri’s Parson is planning to invest $56 million to expand pre-K options for low-income children, and Nevada’s Lombardo is providing $60 million for similar efforts. 

Governors are also calling for bureaucratic changes: New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to make it easier for eligible parents to access child care assistance, saying, “Less than 10% of families who are eligible … are actually enrolled. This is the legacy of a system that is difficult to navigate — by design. That has to change.” Similarly, South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said her state would work with providers to overhaul rules and regulations. 

Mental Health

Sixteen governors acknowledged the rise in  post-pandemic and the need to expand access to services, particularly for children and teens. Some focused specifically on school-based services, while others supported community-based approaches.

Several Democratic governors called for increasing the number of school counselors, psychologists and social workers, including Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is proposing to expand Mental Health Intervention Teams in schools. In Wisconsin, Evers announced he is investing more than $270 million to allow every district to expand school-based mental health services.

Though largely a priority among Democrats, mental health also came up in a few Republican speeches: Missouri’s Parson proposed an additional $3.5 million for more youth behavioral-health liaisons, and Ohio’s DeWine hopes to address the shortage of pediatric behavioral-health professionals and facilities. 

While the culture wars and other divisive political issues continue to play out in schools and colleges, it is perhaps encouraging to see significant numbers of state leaders from both parties proposing pragmatic policy responses to teacher shortages, student mental health needs, low reading scores and other systemic challenges facing the nation’s educators.

Maps by ����Ӱ��’s Meghan Gallagher