NSTA Legislative Update: August 3, 2009
2009-08-03 - Office of Legislative and Public Affairs
President Obama and Secretary Duncan Launch the Race to the Top
On July 24 the U.S. Department of Education released their proposed Request for Proposal (RFP) for the $4.3 billion Race to the Top (RTTT) Fund.
The RTTT is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama in February. The ARRA Race to the Top is a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward states that are implementing significant education reforms across four “assurance” areas: implementing standards and assessments, improving teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution, improving collection and use of data, and supporting struggling schools.
As required by law states that receive a Race to the Top grant must use at least 50 percent of the award to provide subgrants to local school districts, including public charter schools, based on the districts’ relative share of funding under part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The remaining funds are available to the state for state-level activities and for disbursements to districts and other eligible entities.
According to the proposed rule currently under comment, “Race to the Top will reward States for having created the conditions for reform (as measured through the State Reform Conditions Criteria proposed in this notice) and for increasing student achievement. Race to the Top will also provide incentives for States to develop and implement comprehensive reform strategies that are integrated across the four ARRA education reform areas [mentioned above] and lead to improved student outcomes.”
There are five priorities the Department will use for evaluating RTTT applications. Proposed Priority 2 (after priority number one which addresses the issues listed above) provides an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
To meet this priority, the state’s application must describe plans to address the need to (i) offer a rigorous course of study in mathematics, sciences, technology, and engineering; (ii) cooperate with industry experts, museums, universities, research centers, or other STEM-capable community partners to prepare and assist teachers in integrating STEM content across grades and disciplines, in promoting effective and relevant instruction, and in offering applied learning opportunities for students; and (iii) prepare more students for advanced study and careers in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including addressing the needs of underrepresented groups and of women and girls in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The Department of Education will be accepting comments on the proposed RFP for the Race to the Top program until August 28.
NSTA Executive Director Francis Eberle was one of the guests invited to join governors, state education leaders, and policymakers at the U.S. Department of Education event when the announcement for the Race to the Top funds was made by President Obama and Secretary Duncan.
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