Colorado Governor Jared Polis, chair of the National Governors Association, recently released an “Education Roadmap for Governors” detailing policy solutions for what many have labeled America's K-12 education crisis.

This report was the culmination of the association’s "Let’s Get Ready: Educating All Americans for Success"initiative, which hoped to improve public education in a number of areas, including early childhood education, skills-based learning programs and more.

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Polis championed the completion of the initiative, launched in 2024 by a bipartisan group of governors,

“For too long, our definition of ‘readiness’ has been narrowly focused on basic academic indicators that only scratch the surface of what a student needs to be successful throughout their lives,” Polis said. “The Let’s Get Ready! Initiative is a call for governors to demand better.”

Over the past year, the initiative made a systematic review of state education practices and challenges. It collaborated with students, educators, employers, advocates, researchers and policymakers to build a roadmap governors can implement to lead their states toward education systems that “work better for all learners and for U.S. economic competitiveness.”

The road map outlines recommendations for governors across five categories:

• Define a vision for student readiness and assess how your state is measuring it.
• Eliminate government silos that impede progress.
• Build systems and infrastructure to measure outcomes.
• Maintain focus on outcomes with a public dashboard.
• Consider a more effective federal role in education.

A system like this is especially important as K-12 funding is such a big part of states’ budgets, often accounting for 25-30 percent, Polis said.

“As the largest funders of education, at the state level we have a responsibility to drive innovation within our systems, bolster our capacity to measure what works and what doesn’t, and most importantly, to prepare our students for workforce readiness, civic engagement, and well-being,” he said. “Our citizens, our communities, our states and our nation deserve nothing less.”

Democrats and Republicans have joined together on the initiative.

“Whether you’re Republican or Democrat, you want the best education for your kids,” said Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican who's the NGA vice chair. “So how do we get there? We have a saying in Oklahoma: classrooms to careers.”

The report stated its recommendations will be even more important as the federal government pulls back from education spending in states.

“In the current political climate, states can count on less federal engagement and a diminished role in coordinating among states,” it said. “It is more important than ever for governors to come together in a bipartisan way to support common sense ideas that boost outcomes for all children.”