State News
Florida Law Sparks Four-Year Degrees at Community Colleges
Florida has experienced a significant increase in four-year degree offerings at the state's community colleges after the enactment of a law in 2008, which allows for community colleges to offer four-year degrees. Eighteen of the state's 28 community colleges are now offering a variety of four-year degrees in subject areas including education, nursing and fire management. In July 2010, the law was updated to allow community colleges with successful four year degree programs to petition the state to pursue additional four-year courses.
(Contact: Stephanie Shipton)

West Virginia Enhances GED Option
The West Virginia State Board of Education recently approved changes to the state's policy aimed at helping struggling students create career pathways after high school. The changes are designed to help students struggling to complete high school earn a GED and, potentially, a certificate in a career and technical field through participation in the GED Options Program. Importantly, the program will enable students to stay in high school while they pursue these pathways. Prior to the approved changes, students under the age of 18 were required to drop out of school before pursuing a GED.

Students ages 16, 17 and 18 are eligible to participate in the GED Options program. As part of the program requirements, students are expected to:

• Attend GED preparation classes and GED tests;
• Complete a 21st Century Global Skills job preparation program;
• Complete four required core courses in a skilled pathway concentration or other certifying pathway; and
• Pass the WorkKeys job skills assessment.

(Contact: Stephanie Shipton)

Delaware Increases Penalties for Inattentive Drivers
Delaware Governor Jack Markell has signed a law to protect "vulnerable users" on the state's roads. The law identifies vulnerable users as pedestrians, including those who work on the road (construction or utility), cyclists, skateboarders, scooters, mopeds, motorcycles and others. Specifically, the legislation will impose new penalties for drivers convicted of inattentive or careless driving resulting in the injury of vulnerable users. These penalties will include a mandatory traffic safety course or community service for a driver found guilty of inattentive driving involving the injury or death of a vulnerable user. Until now, no such enhanced penalties existed.
(Contact: Lauren Stewart)

New York Facial Recognition Software Targets Duplicate Licenses
Just six months after its implementation, New York has found that the facial recognition software employed by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has been instrumental in identifying more than 1000 cases of possible fraud. The facial recognition system is designed to advance the DMV's goal of "one driver, one license" by converting digital photographs into mathematical algorithms for analysis by trained professionals. The software then presents an analyst with photographs from the 15 million already in the New York DMV's database that are similar, putting a hold on the issuance of a new license until it can be thoroughly reviewed.

Curbing second identity documents is seen as critical by state officials because many represent an attempt to evade license suspensions, facilitate identity theft, commit financial fraud or present fake identification to law enforcement officials. The Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research estimates that approximately 67 percent of individuals uncovered by New York's facial recognition software have one or more driving suspensions that appear to have been circumvented by obtaining a duplicate license.
(Contact: David Henry)

Massachusetts Enacts Criminal Reforms
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has signed a multifaceted anti-crime package to reduce recidivism by assisting inmates with supervision and job training. Specifically, the law reforms the state's criminal code to allow non-violent drug offenders an opportunity to participate in the state's education and training programs.

Other provisions include changing the state's criminal records information system for prospective employers. Criminal records will now be placed on an Internet-based platform that will keep felonies in the system for ten years and misdemeanors for five, with murder and sex offenses remaining permanently. Finally, the new legislation adds illegal gun possession to the list of crimes that state prosecutors can use for pre-trial detention of suspects, and it will provide greater relief to crime victims with a larger compensation fund.
(Contact: Carmen Ferro)

Rhode Island Moves Forward with Offshore Wind
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved the power purchase agreement between Deepwater Wind and National Grid, a critical step in the effort to secure the first offshore wind project in the United States. National Grid, a utility company, agreed to purchase electricity from the eight-turbine Block Island Wind Farm at a rate of 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour over 20 years. The agreement includes an "open book" clause, which requires developer Deepwater Wind to report and have the state verify all construction and development costs and apply any cost savings to reductions in electricity rates. The wind farm will cover most of Block Island's energy needs, about one percent of the state's total need, with excess electricity sold back to the mainland grid.

The wind farm is expected to result in $100 million in direct economic development to the state upon completion in 2012. The PUC must still approve the transmission line to connect the island to the mainland for the project to proceed.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

Colorado Reaches Wildlife Protection Agreements with Oil and Gas Developers
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has formed agreements with nine energy development companies to actively protect wildlife, while allowing expanded oil and gas drilling. The Colorado Division of Wildlife worked with each of the companies to develop approved, voluntary plans for protecting critical habitats prior to the start of drilling, as well as measures for mitigating the impact on habitats once drilling begins.

The energy firms have also agreed to use closed-loop drilling processes to mitigate the impact on air and water quality. In exchange, the state has agreed to expedite the approval of drilling permits within the designated areas, which include state, federal and private lands. In total, 355,000 acres of habitat for elk, deer, sage grouse and cutthroat trout on the state's Western Slope are now covered under the agreements.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

Illinois Ends Pre-Employment Credit Checks
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently signed a bill that prohibits Illinois employers from discriminating based on a job seeker's credit history. The new law prevents employers from inquiring about an applicant or employee's credit history or obtaining a copy of their credit report. By doing this, the law removes a significant barrier to employment for the segment of the population whose credit history has been affected by the recession.
(Contact: Erin Lamos)

Missouri Training Program Targets Unemployed
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has launched a new worker training program called Work Ready Missouri, which will match 1000 unemployed workers with job training at participating Missouri companies. The program will target individuals currently receiving unemployment benefits and living in the state. Work Ready Missouri will provide the selected workers with a stipend of $300 per month to cover training-related expenses. Upon completion of the six-week program, workers will receive a training certificate and consideration for employment with the company that trained them.

Work Ready Missouri is administered through the state’s Division of Workforce Development and the Division of Employment Security and is funded through WIA discretionary funds.
(Contact: Erin Andrew)

Maine Website Educates Public On Federal Health Reform
The Maine Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance has unveiled a new tool to help Maine residents better understand federal health care reform legislation, how it impacts the state and how it will impact consumers. The website provides up-to-date information as the new federal law is implemented, including new opportunities for consumers. The website also informs residents about actions the state is taking in response to reform, including information from the state's Steering Committee of Health Reform, which was created by executive order in April 2010.
(Contact: Jason Hsieh)

Other News
Higher Ed Policies Can Affect Achievement Gaps
The Education Trust has released two reports examining the gaps in graduation between African American, Latino and White students at four-year higher education institutions. The study compared schools with similar composition and found that an achievement gap can be eliminated by an institutional focus on strengthening the academic success of underrepresented students. Examples of the interventions at successful schools include:

• Intensive advising and support for first year students;
• Transition programs for those students at-risk of failing to graduate; and
• Early warning data systems to detect, and enable the school to intervene with, struggling students.

(Contact: Amanda Szekely)

Public Views Social Media as Emergency Response Tool
The American Red Cross has conducted a survey, Social Media in Disasters and Emergencies, that shows one in six people have used social media to get information about an emergency in the past, and 18 percent would turn to social media if attempts to dial 911 were unsuccessful. The survey findings include:

• Sixty-nine percent of adults surveyed said that emergency agencies should regularly monitor their websites and social media so they can respond to queries posted there; and
• Seventy-four percent of those surveyed said that one hour or less represented a reasonable time expectation for help to arrive after a citizen posted a request to a social media site.

Red Cross officials point to the survey as an indication that the public is expanding its use of nonconventional means to access information during an emergency, and public agencies need to be ready to tailor their disaster response information accordingly.
(Contact: Carmen Ferro)

Energy Outlook Shows Rising Oil Prices
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, projecting a steady rise in oil prices through the end of 2010 and into 2011. Other highlights from the report include:

• Gasoline retail prices averaged $2.80 per gallon this summer, a 36 cent increase over summer 2009;
• The average price of gasoline in 2010 is expected to be $2.77, up from $2.35 in 2009; and
• Carbon dioxide emissions are expected to increase by 3.4 percent in 2010 and another 0.8 percent in 2011.

The rise in carbon dioxide emissions is a result of continued economic growth and a consequent increase in energy consumption. However, these projected emission levels are still lower than the actual emissions in any year from 1999 to 2008.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

Labor-Intensive Employees Retire Earlier than Other Job Sectors
A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research highlights negative consequences that raising the retirement age could have on workers in physically demanding jobs. Specifically, the report found that employment in physically demanding jobs and jobs with difficult working conditions is a major cause of early labor-market exits among older workers. Evidence shows that this population has more physical limitations as they age, indicating that they might not be able to work as long as needed to achieve full retirement benefits. The report also found that the majority of people employed in physically demanding jobs are male (62.7 percent) and less educated, low-wage workers (51.3 percent).
(Contact: Erin Lamos)

Report Highlights Impact of Recession and Health Reform on Medicaid Programs
A new report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, based on discussions with Medicaid directors during spring 2010, finds a tension between the simultaneous effects of the recession and the enactment of federal health reform. Discussions with state Medicaid directors revealed, among other findings, that fiscal, administrative and provider capacity remain the top concerns. The report also indicates that state planning must begin immediately for the Medicaid expansion to coordinate with the exchanges that begin operation in 2014.
(Contact: Caryn Marks)

What's New
Thirty-Three States Have Adopted Common Academic Standards
As of August 16, 2010, 33 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards. Those states are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The NGA Center and the Council of Chief State School Officers released the Common Core State Standards in June. The standards define the knowledge and skills students should gain in K-12 education to graduate high school fully prepared for college and work.
(Contact: Stephanie Shipton)

Federal Grant Opportunity to Support High School Financial Education
State education agencies are eligible to apply for funding from the U.S. Department of Education to support development, implementation and evaluation of high-school level personal finance instructional materials and related teacher training to increase college access and success. Applicants must focus on high-need school districts. One-time funding of $1.7 million is available, and applications are due September 9, 2010.
(Contact: Amanda Szekely)