State News

Massachusetts to Measure Students’ Rate of Improvement
Massachusetts recently unveiled a new model for measuring school improvement on state standardized tests. The growth model measures individual students’ rates of improvement from one year to the next, supplementing the existing measures which compares each grade level with the ones before it.

The new model allows the state to identify which schools are demonstrating high rates of improvement, as well as high-scoring schools that may not be showing much improvement. 
(Contact: Laura Harris)

Ohio Launches Advanced Energy Centers of Excellence
Governor Ted Strickland recently announced the first of five groupings of university Centers of Excellence across the state. Nine Centers of Excellence in advanced energy have been established at eight universities in Ohio to help align the emerging workforce with Ohio’s future energy goals. The centers will focus academic and research activities related to advanced energy development and respond to recently signed legislation mandating that 25 percent of all electricity sold in Ohio come from advanced energy sources by 2025.

Four other groupings of university Centers of Excellence will be unveiled this year. Three will be specific to Ohio’s targeted growth industries: transportation and logistics, biomedical and health care, and agriculture and food production. One other center will focus on attracting and retaining creative talent in Ohio.
(Contact: Laura Harris)

Arizona Prioritizes Services, Posts Budget Impacts Online
By: Kelsey McCoy
Arizona state agencies have prioritized their services and assessed which functions they can no longer afford to perform in preparation for a 15 percent reduction to their fiscal year (FY) 2010 budgets. The proposed budget reduction plans were created in response to a letter from the Arizona Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting requesting data from each state agency describing the ramifications and impacts of 15 percent reductions to their operations. Each agency was asked to prioritize services based on what is deemed most essential by the agencies, voters and/or courts.

Descriptions of how each agency will meet the 15 percent reduction target have been posted on the state’s Web site so that all citizens will know the impacts of state budget reductions.
(Contact: Blaire Jones)

California Governor Signs Ignition Interlock Bills
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two ignition interlock bills into law to combat drunk driving. AB 91 requires all first-time DUI offenders in California to have ignition interlock devices, which test drivers’ breath for alcohol before their car can be started, installed in their vehicles. Companion bill SB 598 will allow repeat DUI offenders to apply for a restricted drivers license, conditioned upon the installation of an ignition interlock device in the offender’s car.

Ignition interlock laws have been successful in reducing drunk driving in other states including New Mexico, where repeat drunk driving arrests have been reduced by 60 percent, and West Virginia, where repeat offenses decreased by 70 percent. California averages 200,000 drunk driving arrests per year, a quarter of which are arrests of repeat offenders.
(Contact: Blaire Jones)

Digital Health Records Made Available for Use in Emergencies
First responders and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in Indianapolis now have access to digital medical records at the scene of an incident, through a new digital record system developed in Indiana. The system gives EMTs real-time access to a patients’ medical record, showing emergency responders pre-existing conditions of a victim, treatments, allergies and current medications, among other data, to provide personalized care at the scene rather than waiting to begin specific procedures at the emergency room.
(Contact: David Henry)

Florida County Issues Handheld Fingerprint Scanners to Police
Sarasota County has deployed 14 portable fingerprint scanning systems that provide quick positive identification of individuals by searching state, local and FBI databases. Unlike most fingerprint systems that can take hours and must be performed at the jail, this new system provides positive identification in the field in a matter of seconds. Positive identification of individuals is critically important for the safety of law enforcement officers. Once an individual’s criminal history is revealed officers can make better informed decisions that can increase their safety.

Officers in Sarasota, Florida, already have been able to identify several individuals providing false names. The scanners cost $4,100 each and were purchased using the county’s drug forfeiture funds.
(Contact: Will Ware)

Kansas and Oklahoma Conduct Joint Drill on Foot and Mouth
Kansas and Oklahoma have conducted a joint drill aimed at protecting the nation’s food supply in the event of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The drill also helped evaluate each state’s plans for a stop movement order.

The exercise focused on an outbreak of foot and mouth in another state that forced officials to declare an emergency and halt the movement of livestock. During the exercise, state and local authorities set up roadblocks and pulled livestock vehicles aside to question drivers about their loads and destinations. In the event of an actual outbreak, officials would stop livestock haulers and require them to return to their point of origin and wait for inspection. Representatives from Colorado, Iowa and Nebraska also monitored the drill.
(Contact: Will Ware)

Rhode Island Uses E-Prescribing to Track H1N1
By: Brian O’Donnell
Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri announced the launch of a program to track the spread of H1N1 through the use of real time electronic prescription data. In the program, pharmacies provide weekly updates of prescription data to epidemiologists at the Rhode Island Department of Health through a secure electronic link, and, because Rhode Island has connected 100 percent of its retail pharmacies for e-prescribing, the data represents pharmacies from across the entire state.

The data, which contains no identifying information, can then be used to determine whether there have been spikes in prescriptions for TAMIFLU or other antiviral medications – indicating a potential spike in the number of H1N1flu cases. If a spike occurs, the prescription data allow the epidemiologists to identify where the spike is occurring and what age groups are being affected.
(Contact: Jason Hsieh)

Vermont Creates Cabinet to Coordinate Health Care Reform
By: Brian O’Donnell
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas recently signed an executive order creating a health care cabinet designed to better coordinate Vermont’s health care reforms across multiple agencies and to coordinate state reforms with any federal health care reforms that might be enacted in the future. The cabinet includes representatives from multiple agencies with jurisdictions over health care services, policy, regulation, and implementation.

By including stakeholders from multiple departments, the cabinet aims to improve the efficiency of implementing new reforms by building strategic partnerships across state government and by removing barriers that hinder full integration.
(Contact: Molly Voris)

Florida Begins Move to Open Road Tolling
The Florida Turnpike Enterprise has taken the first steps toward converting its 460 miles of highway to all-electronic open road tolling. By eliminating tollbooths along the turnpike, the Turnpike Enterprise aims to reduce stopping and idling time, which they expect will improve safety, congestion, fuel use and emissions.

In addition to the current SunPass electronic tolling system currently in place, the Turnpike Enterprise will begin implementing a Toll-by-Plate program that captures license plate images and provides a number of flexible payment options. The southernmost 47 miles of the turnpike will be the first section completed, and is scheduled to be tollbooth free by early 2011. The Turnpike Enterprise will also be holding both Web-based and in-person public workshops to teach customers about how the system will work as well as administrative rule changes regarding Toll-by-Plate rates.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

North Dakota Launches Biofuels Program
The North Dakota Department of Commerce has launched a $2 million dollar incentive program aimed at fuel retailers for the purchase and installation of ethanol and biodiesel blender pumps. The pumps will allow consumers with flex fuel vehicles to purchase a variety of fuels at service stations, including:

• Standard gasoline;
• E10, E30, E85 and custom blends of ethanol;
• Traditional diesel fuel; and
• Consumer-determined mixes of biodiesel.

Other News

Report Finds Positive Impacts of Ohio Innovation Investments
A recent report by SRI International finds that Ohio Third Frontier, a $1.6 billion, 10-year commitment to investing in Ohio’s innovation economy that was launched in 2002, has generated the following results:

• $6.6 billion of economic activity;
• 41,300 jobs; and
• $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits.

Report Outlines Lessons Learned from Successful Community Schools
A new report from the Center for American Progress highlights successful community school models in the United States and England. Community schools partner with nonprofits and local agencies to provide students with health care, academic enrichment, mental and behavioral health services, and other youth development activities, often in an extended day. The report notes several key lessons learned from successful community schools in both countries, including:

• Each community school needs a strong academic program at its center, regardless of how comprehensive nonacademic services are;
• After-school and extracurricular programming should complement the school’s academic activities;
• Partnering nonprofits or agencies should dedicate an on-site employee of their organization as a full-time point of contact between the school and the organization; and
• Consistent, high-quality evaluations are necessary to help schools improve and prevent schools from becoming stuck in nonproductive partnerships.

The findings show certain ways in which the education system in England can provide guidance to the United States on how to increase the number of community schools, particularly in high-poverty areas. By next year, all of England’s 23,000 public schools will become “extended schools,” open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the year. The extended schools offer day care, after-school, and social services such as health care. Community schools can help children living in poverty overcome obstacles, such as a lack of access to health care, which can hinder their success in the classroom.
(Contact: Laura Harris)

Report: Telecommuting May Overwhelm Internet During a Pandemic
Should a pandemic influenza require workers and students to stay at home to avoid the spread of a virus, the telecommuting workforce might overwhelm current Internet capacity, according to a GAO report. Demand on Internet services would shift from company and academic servers to workers using their personal computers from home, putting excessive demands on the Internet infrastructure that services personal residences. Additionally, critical systems might be threatened as essential personnel needed to maintain infrastructure might not be in the workplace for weeks or months.

While the shift from corporate servers to personal computer use is anticipated in the event of a massive telecommuting effort, the GAO indicates that there is little planning or preparation by federal authorities to manage the demand, as there is no clear authority to act since much of the Internet infrastructure is privately owned.
(Contact: David Henry)

Study Finds Students Personal Information Is Vulnerable
By: Alisha Powell
While examining data systems created to track student progress, a new study conducted by Fordham University found that states often collect more information about students than necessary and fail to enact the proper measures to protect their privacy. The findings conclude that states fail to protect student’s privacy due to the lack of tightened protocols for purging records after students graduate. The study recommends that states:

• Enhance protocols to keep data anonymous, with special provisions for those in local schools who need to know more;
• State reasons for collecting data and dispose what is unnecessary; and
• Appoint officers to oversee compliance with state and federal privacy laws.

(Contact: David Henry)

Hospitals That Care for the Poor Lag in Adopting Electronic Health Records
By: Brian O’Donnell
A new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that hospitals that serve a disproportionally large share of poor patients are lagging behind other hospitals in adopting electronic health records (EHR). More specifically, the report finds that:

• Hospitals that treat higher rates of poor patients had lower adoption levels of electronic clinical decision support tools, electronic medication lists and electronic discharge systems;
• Among hospitals without an EHR system, those that care for higher rates of poor people more often cite lack of funding as a barrier to adopting EHR systems; and
• Among hospitals with EHR systems, there was no disparity in the standard of care provided between hospitals that care for higher rates of poor people and other hospitals. However, among hospitals without an EHR system, disparities in quality of care existed.

The study concludes that these findings, particularly the potential for reducing disparities associated with EHR adoption and problems accessing capital, should inform federal policies that determine how to target health information technology money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
(Contact: Ree Sailors)

Report Offers Guide for Marketing Transportation Investment
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has released a guide for state transportation agencies designed to assist them in creating, marketing and implementing new funding initiatives. The report outlines steps for determining if a new transportation funding initiative is necessary, as well provides a “Tactical Toolkit” for framing and marketing the issues surrounding transportation infrastructure investment. The guide also looks closely at 11 state and local case studies that illustrate successes, failures and mixed results in transportation funding initiatives.
(Contact: Andrew Kambour)

What's New

Brief Examines Policies States Can Implement to Support Immigrant Integration
The NGA Center released an Issue Brief, Rising to the Immigrant Integration Challenge: What States Are Doing – and Can Do, outlining ways states can facilitate successful immigrant integration and benefit from the social, cultural and economic contributions of the more than one million legal immigrants that enter the United States each year.
(Contact: Erin Andrew)

Apply Now for Policy Academy on Building Retrofits
The NGA Center invites states to apply for the upcoming Policy Academy on Building Retrofits. Up to eight states will be competitively selected to receive assistance towards developing and beginning to implement action plans for large-scale, multi-year building energy efficiency retrofit programs. Selected states will host site visits, attend workshops with other state participants, and receive technical assistance from NGA Center staff and other Policy Academy Faculty.

The deadline to apply is December 4, 2009, at 5:00 PM EST.
(Contact: Devashree Saha)

States will be selected by an independent committee. The period of performance for the grant will be January 2010 through December 2010. During this time, the state teams will:

• Participate in an in-depth data analysis of the location and scope of the dropout problem in the state;
• Use information from the data analysis to identify project activities that meet at least one of the Achieving Graduation for All: A Governor’s Guide to Dropout Prevention and Recovery recommendations;
• Attend two NGA Center policy academy meetings; and,
• Receive up to $50,000 to conduct additional research, host in-state meetings and develop a state action plan for dropout prevention and recovery.