What Are Governors Saying About Education in Their State of the State Addresses in 2019?

January 17, 2019

UPDATE: Our 2019 report, which includes analysis of 48 governors’ addresses, is available here.

The elections resulted in big changes in state leadership, including a sizable cohort of 20 new governors. Because many governors appoint top education policy leaders in their states, they play a key role in setting their state’s education policy agenda. So, what are they planning for education in 2019 and beyond?

To figure that out, we track governors’ State of the State addresses. These speeches sketch out governors’ policy priorities, highlight past accomplishments and reflect on the condition of their state and our country. Each year, we summarize and identify trends in education policy proposals featured in these addresses. And we add these summaries to our interactive map within 48 hours of the address — click on a state to see a summary of the education policy issues highlighted by that state’s governor every year since 2005! (You can also view governors’ education proposals by year and issue — an easy way to spot trends across states.)

So far, governors have highlighted some of the same issues as last year — including school finance and career and technical education — and we’re looking forward to hearing what the rest say. We’ll share a full analysis in March; until then, stay tuned to our interactive map!

Author profile

Julie Rowland Woods

Senior Policy Analyst at Education Commission of the States | jwoods@ecs.org

In her role, Julie supports a team of policy staff members who work on education issues across the educational spectrum and coordinates responses to state leaders’ policy questions. Julie comes to Education Commission of the States with experience in the intersection of law and education. Julie believes that providing state leaders with nonpartisan and accurate information is foundational to a functioning democracy.