Policy, Fiscal Challenges Confront State Officials

Governor Jerry Brown addresses the audience after he was sworn-in as California's 39th Governor in Sacramento, Calif. on Jan. 3. Brown has warned school officials to expect deep reductions as the state struggles with a $28 billion two-year deficit.

—Anne Chadwick Williams/AP

By Sean Cavanagh

Despite bleak fiscal conditions that could thwart some of their priorities, governors and state lawmakers—bolstered in some cases by new Republican majorities—are expected to press forward this year with ambitious education proposals that could include changing teacher job protections and expanding school choice.

Newly elected and returning officeholders go to work this month as states struggle to climb out of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, with many warning that K-12 education—historically insulated from the budget ax—is likely to face severe cuts.

While state tax revenues have improved somewhat recently, 15 states already have reported new budget shortfalls since the fiscal 2011 year began last summer, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . And states are likely face continuing budget gaps over the next two years as well, according to the Denver-based...