Tom Greene is the National Legislative Director for ExcelinEd in Action. In this role, he manages the organization’s advocacy team and works with leaders and lawmakers from across the states to promote student-centered solutions.
With the 2024 gubernatorial elections complete, newly elected governors are set to drive significant changes in education policy across the United States. Key issues on their agendas include school funding reform, early literacy, math proficiency, career readiness, school choice, teacher retention, phone-free schools and more.
This post summarizes the publicly available education policy priorities of the victorious gubernatorial candidates, serving as a resource for understanding how these leaders plan to tackle the challenges that affect students, teachers and communities in their states.
In this piece, we focus on the 11 states that held gubernatorial elections in 2024.
Delaware | Indiana | Missouri | Montana | New Hampshire | North Carolina | North Dakota | Utah | Vermont | Washington | West Virginia
Delaware Gov.-elect Matt Meyer is a former charter school math teacher, so it may come as no surprise that he has a far-reaching 23-page education policy plan. His priorities include rectifying the outdated school funding formula, addressing Delaware’s teacher shortage and improving student proficiency in reading and math.
“A free, high-quality public education is the greatest equalizer. As Delaware’s first teacher-governor, I will work tirelessly to improve our education system so every student can get a world-class education and every educator can thrive.”
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Meyer’s education vision includes fostering meaningful pathways to college and career and guaranteeing access to higher education for Delaware’s students. He wants to integrate innovative learning into all subjects at all grade levels; turn the traditional senior year of high school into a pathway to achieve lifelong success; create a system for students to pursue dual credit enrollment in vocational, technical and community college courses; encourage students to pursue apprenticeships and other job opportunities; and establish a Delaware Compact program.
He stated on his campaign website:
“As governor, I will push for curriculum and funding to make available to all schoolchildren opportunities like these and the ability to envision a larger future for themselves.”
Early Literacy & Math
Gov.-elect Meyer’s education plan emphasizes ensuring all Delaware children achieve grade-level reading proficiency by third grade through evidence-based reading curricula. He says he will also include scientifically based reading instruction in the teacher certification process, specifically for elementary school certification, and require pre-service teachers seeking certification to pass a Foundations of Reading assessment. As a former public school math teacher, Gov.-elect Meyer’s experience informs his approach to enhancing math education, which could mirror the state’s approach to early literacy.
He stated on his campaign website:
“As Governor, I will embed scientifically based reading instruction in school curricula and hold programs accountable for literacy outcomes.”
Teacher Policies
Gov.-elect Meyer’s plan calls for competitive teacher salaries, reduced classroom disruptions, professional development for teachers, supportive pathways into teaching, teacher residencies, loan forgiveness programs and diversifying the teaching workforce. Creating pathways to leadership roles and reducing financial barriers to becoming a teacher could also be part of the playbook in Delaware.
He stated on his campaign website:
“It is hard to see our classrooms thriving when paraprofessionals play such an important role in teaching, learning and classroom environment, and they are paid a fraction of what Amazon delivery drivers make.”
Education Funding
Gov.-elect Meyer has called educational equity a moral imperative that Delaware is failing, specifically in the city of Wilmington and rural areas. He supports “dramatic and rapid changes to [the state’s] funding system,” which include increasing investment in Delaware’s public education system, incentivizing quality educators, expanding school choice to families and increasing access to early childhood education. The legislatively created Public Education Funding Commission is working to evaluate and recommend improvements to the state’s education funding system to ensure equitable and adequate resources for all students, with a report due in late 2025.
Indiana Gov.-elect Mike Braun’s top education priorities focus on career readiness, school choice and parental rights. As a former U.S. Senator for Indiana, he has a track record for supporting student-centered policies.
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Braun supports strengthening the workforce development pipeline. He co-sponsored the Pathways to Prosperity Act to help more students gain access to skills training programs that lead to good-paying jobs. According to his agenda, he wants to “Invest in career scholarship programs, support extracurricular exploration, and reward schools for graduating students prepared to excel in their career, college, or the military.”
He said on his campaign website:
“There are many good-paying jobs out there that go unfilled because of a lack of skills and career/technical training.”
Early Literacy & Math
Gov.-elect Braun’s Freedom and Opportunity Agenda includes a focus on improving early literacy education, emphasizing the importance of foundational reading skills. His plan also calls for “evidence-based materials for reading and math, focus dollars on the classroom and student achievement, maintain accountability with clear metrics.”
He said on his campaign website:
“We need to make sure our children both read and write and support this effort to have our third graders pass a basic reading test.”
Educational Opportunity
Gov.-elect Braun is a strong advocate for private school choice, supporting school vouchers, education savings accounts (ESAs) and tax-credit scholarships. He supports public school choice, including charter schools and open enrollment policies.
In an opinion piece in the IndyStar about his platform, he said:
“A major part of the solution should be rooted in the notion every family, regardless of income or zip code, should be able to enroll in a school of their choice and pursue a curriculum that prepares them for a career, college or the military.”
Teacher Policies
Gov.-elect Braun has worked on legislation to support teachers, such as the Consider Teachers Act, which aims to fix issues with the TEACH Grant program and provide better support for teachers in underserved communities. His education plan also calls for boosting teacher pay and benefits (new parent leave, improved health insurance options) and building the teacher pipeline through transition-to-teach programs, “cutting red tape for out-of-state teachers” and targeted recruitment.
“The TEACH grant is an important program to incentivize teachers to serve in neglected communities, but 12 years of poor government management has turned these grants into groans for thousands of teachers.”
Phone-Free Schools
Gov.-elect Braun’s education plan calls for limiting cell phone use in the classroom.
Missouri Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe has expressed his commitment to several student-centered education policies.
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Kehoe endorses the “Beyond 12” approach, ensuring students have the necessary tools and training to prepare for careers during and after K-12 education.
“We’ve got plenty of great institutions here. We need to make sure from a very young age we’re working with these kids to find out where their heart is and then working with the private sector employers to find out what the need is … so that we match those two things up.”
Early Literacy & Math
Gov.-elect Kehoe has not detailed his approach to early literacy and math policies, but his overall educational platform suggests a focus on foundational skills critical for long-term academic and career success.
Educational Opportunity
Gov.-elect Kehoe emphasizes the importance of school choice, advocating for parents and children to have the freedom to select the right educational opportunities, which includes expanding private school choice through tax-credit scholarships and other means. Gov.-elect Kehoe also supports public school choice options like charter schools and open enrollment, aiming to provide a more diverse range of educational environments.
He said to the Springfield News-Leader:
“My legacy, I hope, for education is that adults stop fighting about what they think is the right thing and we start figuring out what is best for kids.”
Teacher Policies
Gov.-elect Kehoe believes in competitive salaries, quality working environments, benefits and providing the right tools for educators.
Montanans re-elected Gov. Greg Gianforte. During the course of his three years in office as Governor of Montana, he has been strong in his support of K-12 education, workforce development and teachers.
College & Career Pathways
In his first year in office, Gov. Gianforte authorized every school district in Montana to establish work-based learning paths for students. In 2023, the governor signed three bills to support internships, apprenticeships and CTE program offerings in schools.
Early Literacy & Math
Gov. Gianforte demonstrated his support for early literacy interventions in 2023 when he signed a bill that provided school funding for the early implementation of literacy interventions. For children identified as struggling to read, the law allows for free, in-home virtual literacy programs or one-on-one teacher instruction from kindergarten through third grade.
Educational Opportunity
Gov. Gianforte signed a package of legislation in 2023 that and increased funding caps for the Big Sky Scholarship Program from $2 million to $5 million and created an education savings account program for special needs students, a public charter school system, community choice schools overseen by local charter boards.
Teacher Policies
Gov. Gianforte signaled his support for Montana teachers with his championing of the 2021 TEACH Act, which provided $2.5 million in incentives for school districts to improve starting teacher pay.
New Hampshire Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte has articulated her education policy priorities through various public statements and policy positions. She says her work would build off former Gov. Sununu’s achievements in that sector. Her goal would be to create a “fiscally responsible budget” while prioritizing children and teachers.
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Ayotte has emphasized the importance of connecting education to workforce pathways, advocating for leveraging community college and university systems to create career paths, especially in childcare.
Early Literacy & Math
Gov.-elect Ayotte will focus on strengthening New Hampshire’s academic standards, bringing students up to speed to make up for lost time in classrooms and prioritizing math, civics, English, science and history. She is expected to prioritize comprehensive literacy policy, building on the work of the current Department of Education to train educators in the science of reading and ensure students are taught using evidence-based methods and materials. She has also expressed an interest in math, a subject in which only 40% of New Hampshire’s students are proficient. That percentage is lower than in 2019 (46%) and has not changed significantly since 2003.
Educational Opportunity
Gov.-elect Ayotte supports a universal expansion of the successful Education Freedom Account Program, which provides grants for parents to customize their child’s learning environment via a number of allowable uses depending on needs.
She said in her first campaign speech:
“I believe that parents make the best decisions for their children. …I’m a strong believer in education freedom, and the reason for that is that every child learns differently. And parents know what is best for their children, and we want to give every child in this state the opportunity to go to the school or the educational setting that is best for them.”
Teacher Policies
Gov.-elect Ayotte underscored that answer with support for teachers, which she said she would make central to her education budget plan. Her plans include rewarding good teachers and recruiting great ones by improving pay and benefits for high-performing educators who focus on academics and help children succeed.
She said at a Save the Children Action Network’s gubernatorial forum:
“Without good teachers, it doesn’t matter what the school infrastructure looks like. …The teachers are really the foundation for what makes a strong education.”
North Carolina Gov.-elect Josh Stein, former state attorney general, has indicated that education plays a vital role in the future of North Carolina, notably that if industries do not have confidence in the state’s education system, they may pull out of the state, hurting the economy. Stein believes the North Carolina legislature must financially support public schools.
“We have to invest in (our children) and their futures,” Stein said. “It’s going to require a coalition of us to change the priorities of the legislature… we need them to pour into our public schools.”
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Stein is an advocate for keeping college affordable and increasing access to skills-based and job training-focused education, not just four-year degrees. Stein has called for all North Carolina students, from pre-K through community college and university to have a high-quality education system that prepares them for their future careers.
“Strengthen career and technical education and apprenticeship programs because while college is right for many people, it’s not right for every person and someone should not have to go to college to provide for his or her family,” he said at a Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s Power Breakfast in June.
He stated on his campaign website, “And we must ensure that North Carolinians who want to continue their education or training can afford it, including keeping tuition affordable at our public universities and making our community colleges tuition no-cost for students training in our state’s growing, high-demand industries. That way, our students can get good paying jobs and our businesses can hire the workers they need.”
Early Literacy & Math
Though he has not outlined a detailed plan to improve reading and math outcomes, Gov.-elect Stein has said that “we must help kids who are struggling from lost instructional time to meet their learning goals.”
Educational Opportunity
Gov.-elect Stein generally opposes education choice. His campaign website claims that efforts to expand educational opportunity for students are “efforts to give tax breaks to millionaires and divert taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private schools.” He has also said he would prefer to roll back popular education choice programs, such as the state’s Opportunity Scholarships.
“I certainly wouldn’t have done what the legislature did this year, which was to open [the Opportunity Scholarship program] up to anyone, irrespective of how much money they have and whether they went to a public school or not. I could potentially go back to where it used to be, which was for low-income kids in public schools who needed it. But that’s not where we are.”
Teacher Policies
Gov.-elect Stein aims to attract teachers to the state by improving retention and increasing teacher pay, as well as pay for school support roles like bus drivers and school counselors. During a gubernatorial forum, he emphasized the need for educator recruitment and retention efforts, such as reinstating master’s degree pay.
Phone-Free Schools
During a March 2024 townhall, Gov.-elect Stein suggested that students should not have access to smartphones during the school day.
Before running for governor of North Dakota, Gov.-elect Kelly Armstrong served in the North Dakota State Senate and was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. His education priorities have included improving programs that prepare students for the workforce and expanding education choice for families.
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Armstrong has emphasized the need to “home-grow” talent for North Dakota’s economy, ensuring that local students are educated for high-need jobs in sectors like healthcare and energy. He advocates for financial incentives, such as student loan buy-downs, to retain and recruit workers.
He also highlighted the importance of increasing state retention rates for graduates and ensuring that local educational institutions, like trade schools and technical programs, remain relevant to the workforce needs of the state.
Educational Opportunity
Gov.-elect Armstrong has indicated he is a strong supporter of parental choice and is strongly opposed to efforts to hinder parents’ rights.
Gov. Spencer Cox was elected to a second term as governor of Utah. Since taking up the mantle in 2021, he has been dedicated to advancing evidence-based, student-centered education policies.
In an interview with Early Learning Nation, he said:
“Our children deserve the highest-quality education and every opportunity to succeed in life. We will continue to work hard to make sure schools in every area of the state are well-funded, that we attract and keep the best teachers and that we provide knowledge and skills that prepare students for life.”
College & Career Pathways
Gov. Cox has committed to creating new opportunities for students entering the workforce. By increasing access to college and technical courses in high school, promoting apprenticeships and offering workforce-aligned programs at technical colleges and universities, Utah expanded students’ opportunities during Gov. Cox’s first term in office.
In an interview with Early Learning Nation, he said:
“We’re also creating new partnerships with the private sector to help provide job training, apprenticeships and exposure for our middle and high school students to a range of career options.”
Early Literacy & Math
During Gov. Cox’s first term, Utah committed to revamping its teacher preparation programs to align with the science of reading. Current teachers were also retrained so they could better understand best practices for teaching children to read. The state committed another $20 million in 2022 toward additional teacher training, hiring literacy coaches and convening a panel of experts to oversee the process, as well as a requirement that districts use curriculum materials backed by the science of reading.
Educational Opportunity
Gov. Cox is a school choice supporter, signing legislation that enacted the Utah Fits All scholarship program, a universal education savings account program.
“School choice works best when we adequately fund public education and we remove unnecessary regulations that burden our public schools and make it difficult for them to succeed. We are especially appreciative of our teachers and education leaders who helped push for more accountability measures which were not included in the original bill.”
Teacher Policies
Gov. Cox has noted that four of 10 teachers leave the profession within their first five years in the job. Accordingly, he increased teacher compensation and improved professional development opportunities.
In an interview with Early Learning Nation, he said:
“Initiatives such as funding equity and increasing pay for teachers are critical for our state’s economy since they not only attract talent to the profession, they increase the retention of great teachers and ensure that students throughout the state—specifically those in lower-income districts—are prepared to continue their post-secondary education and enter the workforce.”
“More than 90% of parents support Utah schools and so do we. Our top priority this session has been a significant increase in teacher compensation and education funding. We commend the Legislature for supporting our teacher pay proposal which will help address the state’s teacher shortage and give Utah teachers the much-needed pay raise they deserve.”
Phone-Free Schools
Gov. Cox sent letters to schools across the state earlier this year, urging them to take steps to curb students’ cell phone usage. He expressed his concerns about the negative impact of social media and urged principals, district leaders and others to eliminate cell phones from classrooms.
“’We all know that cell phones are a distraction and when we put phones away we can actually focus and study,’” Gov. Cox said in a statement. “’Cell phone-free learning environments will help our teachers teach and our students learn. We want to give our schools every opportunity to succeed.’”
Gov. Phil Scott was re-elected in Vermont. In his first term, he articulated a clear vision for the state’s education system, emphasizing efficiency, sustainability and alignment with economic needs. His five-year education plan aims to direct more resources to educational opportunities while keeping tax rates stable.
College & Career Pathways
Gov. Scott has supported initiatives like hiring a State Career Pathways Coordinator to align educational programs with industry needs, ensuring students can access high-wage, high-growth careers.
In his 2022 State of the State Address, he stated:
“If we make smart changes to current policy, we can open the door to Career and Technical Education, giving kids multiple paths to a lucrative career and filling these crucial jobs. For far too long, we have not done enough to point students toward these great opportunities to build a real future for themselves. It is time we end the stigma around CTE. Because the fact is, many of the smartest, most successful people I know are in the trades.”
Early Literacy & Math
Gov. Scott signed legislation that focuses on improving literacy from prekindergarten through grade 12. This law takes a comprehensive approach and ensures students across the state will be taught using evidence-based literacy instruction.
Gov. Scott dedicated $8.5 million in State ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds to expand afterschool and summer programs (FY22). In 2019, He also proposed and worked with the legislature to create a task force to recommend a framework to provide universal access to afterschool programming for kids. In 2021, the Governor signed an executive order to create the Vermont Interagency Afterschool Youth Task Force to continue this planning work.
Educational Opportunity
Gov. Scott has consistently supported public school choice, including charter schools and open enrollment, and has recognized the importance of educational choice in a proclamation during Vermont School Choice Week. His stance on private school choice is nuanced; he supports the concept but has expressed concerns about a statewide voucher system.
Teacher Policies
Gov. Scott has highlighted the importance of investing in education to support teachers from cradle to career.
Washington Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson, former attorney general, has noted a special interest in public education because he is the son of a teacher.
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Ferguson has said he’ll focus on expanding access to high-quality career and technical education as well as STEM courses and programs that prepare students for high-demand jobs. He plans to scale up existing STEM initiatives and address the needs of underrepresented communities, particularly students of color. His goals include ensuring equitable access to learning technology and digital skills, providing every student with a learning device and introducing legislation to improve access to computer science and digital citizenship courses starting in third grade.
Additionally, Gov.-elect Ferguson aims to ensure all students have high school and post-high school opportunities for career education and skills training. He plans to build partnerships to identify workforce needs, expand skills-training opportunities and connect skilled workers to employers.
He also prioritizes financial aid access for students pursuing career and technical training, apprenticeships and skills development. He plans to work with organized labor to launch Apprenticeship Recruitment Teams, focusing on reaching young people who do not complete high school or college and connecting them to apprenticeships and pathways to finish their high school diploma.
He said in an interview with the Seattle Times editorial board:
“I will scale up programs that engage students through real-world experiences, and specifically STEM programs, as these skills are now necessary across many jobs, and the majority of high-wage occupations in Washington. We need to ensure that we prepare all students with the skills needed to flourish and ensure that students of color are included in preparation for the best career opportunities that Washington has to offer. I will also support ensuring students receive more equitable access to computer science courses.”
Early Literacy & Math
Gov.-elect Ferguson’s approach to improving reading and math outcomes is to reduce class sizes and ensure all students have access to free meals. According to his campaign website:
“Reducing class sizes in these areas will allow us to support all students and help make growth in their learning, no matter where they are starting each year. Teachers must have smaller class sizes to be able to provide multiple ways for students to reach mastery in math, science, social studies, and English.”
“It’s hard for kids to learn on an empty stomach. Research shows that children who eat breakfast are more likely to reach higher levels of achievement in reading and mathematics, perform better on assessments, have increased memory and concentration, and maintain a healthy weight. Delivering free breakfasts and lunches to all Washington K-12 students who request them will improve student achievement and save Washington families hundreds of dollars per year.”
Educational Opportunity
During a gubernatorial debate, Gov.-elect Ferguson expressed opposition to school vouchers, stating they divert tax dollars from public schools to “unaccountable private schools.”
Education Funding
Gov.-elect Ferguson stated that the percentage of the state budget going to public education in recent years has shrunk, something he said he would rectify once in office.
He had the following to say about improving outcomes in high-poverty districts and eliminating opportunity gaps:
“Washington’s school funding model allocates fewer resources per student to high-poverty districts. As governor, I will support expanding Washington’s Learning Assistance Program, or LAP, which is one of the few programs in state education that ties funding directly to poverty. If we want to improve student outcomes, we must tie funding to need, and we know that high-poverty districts have higher needs.
Teacher Policies
Gov.-elect Ferguson’s teacher policy priorities focus on ensuring that all school districts have access to the qualified educators they need, particularly in subjects like math, special education, science and STEM. He emphasizes the importance of having educators who reflect the cultural backgrounds of the communities they serve, especially in small, rural and low-income districts.
West Virginia Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey has expressed a commitment to advancing educational excellence within the state. As the state’s former Attorney General, his campaign for Governor highlighted education as a key priority, with a focus on enhancing education choice and charter schools.
College & Career Pathways
Gov.-elect Morrisey plans to increase college and career pathways opportunities, including apprenticeships and internships available for students after high school. He plans to build closer partnerships with employers across West Virginia to develop a talent pipeline system for employment after high school, which he hopes will send a message to the state’s youth: There is no reason to leave West Virginia to find a job.
Early Literacy & Math
Gov.-elect Morrisey said focusing on improving reading, writing and math proficiency for children in early elementary school grades is a priority for him. He believes these plans will give those children a better chance when they graduate and enter the workforce. The state enacted the Third Grade Success Act and is implementing the comprehensive policy in both reading and math.
“If everyone has the ability to succeed from an educational perspective, there’s no stopping how far that they can go,” Morrisey said in an article by The Weirton Daily Times. “We have to drive those educational attainment rates much higher just even from a reading perspective, and drive the numbers up compared to a lot of the states that we touch and nationally.”
Educational Opportunity
Gov.-elect Morrisey has been an advocate for school choice, supporting measures that provide options beyond traditional public schooling, such as private school choice and charter schools. He has also been involved in legal actions defending the state’s Hope Scholarship ESA program. He also says enrolling more students in the Hope Scholarship could help improve education outcomes that lag behind the rest of the country by meeting the unique needs of students.
“As your next governor, I want to make sure that school choice in our state is known as the best and the broadest school choice policy in America,” he said at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting and Business Summit.
Teacher Policies
Gov.-elect Morrisey is committed to recruiting and retaining great teachers, especially where there are large vacancies. He said to The Weirton Daily Times:
“We have to adjust locally given where there’s competition. I’m going to look to do that. I’m going to make sure, though, that we present all the information for all the states for the whole public to see so that folks understand why we have to make the changes that we’re making.”
