Nine for '99.

• Author: Rose, Gene
• Position: The nine most difficult legislative issues for 1999 - Cover Story

The last legislative sessions before the year 2000 find state lawmakers rolling up their sleeves to tackle familiar issues with new twists.

What a difference a century makes.

The issues may look familiar to the nation's 7,424 state lawmakers as they begin the last legislative sessions of the 1900s, but they look at those issues with an ability and confidence to effect change not enjoyed by their colleagues 100 years ago.

The last decade of the 20th century has been marked by state legislatures taking the lead on problems like welfare reform, health care and education. While Congress struggles with those issues, states continue to set the agenda for the next century.

"There are tremendous ideas emerging from state legislatures," says NCSL President and North Carolina Representative Dan Blue. "During the last quarter century, states are taking the lead in finding the best solutions to critical issues."

From the familiar agenda of budgets, the quality of public education, managed health care and drunk driving to emerging issues like welfare tracking, growth management and the tobacco settlement to the millennium computer bug and redistricting for the year 2000, these nine key issues are likely to be prevailing themes of the 1999 state legislatures.

THE SCHOOL OF HARD THOUGHTS

From the first meetings of the first state legislatures in the 1700s to the last completed session of 1998, education has been and is likely to forever remain a dominant political and social theme. Exit polls from the November 1998 elections tell lawmakers that education is tire most important issue for voters in the upcoming year. People are demanding either better quality or more choices oil where children attend school.

Much of the legislative focus on education quality is on smaller class sizes, recruiting and retaining good teachers, and school safety.

Approving additional funds to reduce class sizes was a popular initiative last year, and several states may follow suit this year. States will probably target areas where research finds that smaller classes have the most powerful effect: kindergarten, first grade and schools with at-risk populations.

"After all, education is our signature product - like light bulbs to GE," says Florida Senate President Toni Jennings. Last year, Florida lawmakers passed programs to build classrooms, and this session they will work on legislation that "guarantees a first-class education inside those classrooms."

"And we need to start early," Jennings says. "A fifth of Florida students start kindergarten unprepared to learn. That means 31,000 students are at a disadvantage before school even starts." Her goal is to cut that number in half by the year 2000. To do so, she will lead the move to pass a readiness package and continue to work on initiatives that reduce class sizes.

Smaller class sizes, rising enrollments in growth areas and an aging teacher corps have created a strong demand for new teachers. Coupled with this is a move toward serious reforms of state teacher policies. Discussions on teacher training, certification and salary will dominate committee hearings, as will ways to hold schools and teachers accountable for results.

Killings by youngsters at schools in Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Oregon have spurred efforts to avert violence in schools. Thirty-six states considered school safety legislation last year. Lawmakers continue to look at many approaches including prevention and intervention programs, increased access to juvenile information and records, tighter security on school grounds, and tougher penalties.

State legislators also may look at broader solutions. Many experts agree that the most effective policies address youth violence in a broader context that involves the whole community.

"The question we have today is whether or not tough sentencing and accountability are enough," says Missouri House Speaker Steve Gaw. "Do we continue to bandage the wound or can we also attempt to prevent the injury to begin with?"

Education experts expect states to continue to look at school choice options including charter schools, tuition tax credits and vouchers. As always, the debates will be between policymakers who support a competitive environment and flexibility for parents in finding a school that meets their child's best interest and those who believe state efforts should go toward making public schools better, rather than supporting private schools with tax...