At a time when education is closer than ever to being handed over for state-by-state control, governors nationwide are making promises to ensure the expansion of K12 funding and school choice. However, student achievement is getting seeing less attention from state leaders.
Forty-one state governors in their 2025 State of the State addresses made commitments to improving K12 education in their states, a new analysis from FutureEd confirms. Many of their speeches included:
- Making changes to school funding formulas and increasing school aid.
- School choice initiatives.
- Protecting student mental health through cell phone bans and regulations.
- Investments in early and higher education.
Here’s a brief look at some of the most common issues addressed by state leaders and their proposed solutions.
Mental health
Concerns about students’ well-being as it relates to social media and cell phone use remain a top priority for state leaders. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for instance, said during her 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.”
She along with at least a dozen other state governors have proposed cell phone bans in schools, as well as stricter internet safety measures.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills also proposed to increase funding for a screening system to better identify children’s behavioral health needs.
School choice
School choice also saw a lot of attention from at least 15 governors who want to expand their programs. Idaho Gov. Brad Little recommended allocating $50 million to create education options with oversight that ensures fairness, transparency and prioritization of families in need while protecting public school funding.
On the other hand, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vowed to reject any attempt to re-route public taxpayer dollars to private schools. Similarly, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear wants to avoid passing a voucher program and instead focus on improving the state’s public school system.
“So let’s stop with the attempts to defund; let’s stop the voucher nonsense; let’s stop the end-runs through tax shelters,” he said during his address. “Instead, let’s do the hard work to strengthen and improve our public schools.”
Student academics
Curriculum and instruction initiatives were placed on the backburner compared to other topics in state addresses. According to the data, only 10 governors addressed academics.
In Tennesee, Gov. Bill Lee recommended funding an expansion of the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee to ensure K12 students learn about America’s founding principles.
Texas’ Greg Abbott took a more political approach and promised to end the encroachment of “woke agendas” in K12 schools.
“We must ban DEI in grades K-12,” he said. “No boys in girls’ sports. The state of Texas recognizes only two genders—male and female. Any educator who tells students that boys can be girls should be fired on the spot.”
Meanwhile, West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey said he wants to continue focusing on the basics: reading, writing and math. Yet, he advocated for the embracement of 21st-century skills in STEM, coding and digital literacy.
We encourage you to view the data yourself and learn what you might expect from your state in the coming year.
