Tennessee State Capital Building
Facade of Tennessee State Capital Building in Nashville, Tennessee
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The Bottom Line States Stepping Out to Transform Education

Dale Chu of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a national advocate for bettering education, breaks down the Education Commission of the States’ annual report, highlighting what state governors are saying about education in their State of the State addresses. The Education Commission of the States follows and evaluates the policy proposals by Governors from each state, looking for developing tendencies, and summarizing them in a way easy to follow for the reader. Examples of these emerging trends are school finance, workforce development, teaching quality, early learning, postsecondary financial aid, and school safety.

The speeches of four governors are singled out for special recognition: Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Brad Little of Idaho, Ron DeSantis of Florida, and Tennessee’s new Governor, Bill Lee. Of the four mentioned, Chu recognizes Governor Lee’s as “the speech that stood out” and rightfully so.

Little’s address is of great interest to the American Center for Transforming Education, as we seek to cultivate a relationship with education stakeholders in Idaho. Governor Lee outlined an extraordinarily courageous revelation: “Low-income students deserve the same opportunities as other kids, and we need a bold plan that will help level the playing field. We need to change the status quo, increase competition, and not slow down until every student in Tennessee has access to a great education. We’re not going to get big results in our struggling schools by nibbling around the edges.”

Governor Lee is spot on! Bureaucracy historically protects the status quo well past the time when the affairs has lost its state. In the long run, competition makes us better by driving innovation. We must press on until every child in the United States has access to a great education. Governor Little reminds us that “Education policy requires long-term planning and commitment.” “Nibbling around the edges” is a poor approach—we need to transform the system itself. This is what we at the ACTE are working to change.

The path forward is not always clear, but with leaders such as Governors Little and Lee we can begin to provide the education these children deserve. We must remain committed to dismantling a system committed to maintaining the status quo and implementing systemic positive change to the system to reestablish our national education ranking as top tier.

Bailey Takacs

Development Program Coordinator, American Center for Transforming Education
Bailey Takacs served as development program coordinator to Discovery Institutes' American Center for Transforming Education and Development team. Bailey has experiences which also include: campaign management and administrative roles with elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels of the government. He holds a B.A. in Politics and Government from Pacific Lutheran University.
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