The U.S. Department of Education announced that 40 states and the District of Columbia submitted applications to be considered for the first phase of the Race to the Top (RTTT) competition. The Race to the Top fund – which was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the economic stimulus package – is a $4.35 billion program intended to provide states with funding to implement reforms in education. In conjunction with the application deadline, President Obama announced his intention to include an additional $1.35 billion for an expanded version of the RTTT program which would allow local school districts to apply for funding, in addition to states, in his fiscal year 2011 budget, which will be released on February 1, 2010.
Winners of the first Race to the Top awards will be announced in April. A second round of applications from states will be due in June, with winners announced this September. States that apply, but do not win in Phase I, may reapply for Phase II.See previous Policy Insider blog posts for more information on the Race to the Top fund.Read CEC's comments to the U.S. Department of Education on the Race to the Top fund.
Read more information from the U.S. Department of Education.Read a new White House RTTT fact sheet which details revised state and community level education policies in response to RTTT and ARRA.
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