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Today is the deadline for state applications in the first round of the Race to the Top grant competition. The easy prognostication to make is that the vast majority of the 39 states (and DC) that apply will have their initial applications rejected and all will reapply in round two, due in June. Most will fail then, too. Despite the publicly released application scoring rubric , it is difficult to know exactly how the application scoring will play out, based upon who the reviewers are, whether Gates Foundation consultant funding helped certain states frame more compelling applications, stated or implicit pressures to fund only a certain number of applications (especially in round one), the importance lent to district and union buy-in from an implementation and sustainability perspective, and the strength of big-state applications versus small-state applications. To the latter point, there's ONLY $4 billion to be spread around, and the largest states could suck up as much as $700 mi...

COLORADO RttT bill is fast-tracked ( Denver Post ) CONNECTICUT 75 school districts on board ( New Haven Register ) ILLINOIS Legislation revamps teacher evaluations; governor's signature expected ( The State Journal-Register ) INDIANA 93% of school districts join Race (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette ) IOWA Senate approves RttT bill ( Des Moines Register ) KENTUCKY Governor signs low-performing schools bill ( Louisville Courier-Journal ) MASSACHUSETTS School bill ready for final vote ( Boston Globe ) MICHIGAN State teacher's union won't sign onto application ( The Detroit News ) MINNESOTA Over 250 districts, charter schools on board ( Star News ) NEBRASKA Governor: State's $122 million application includes 'Virtual High School' ( Omaha World-Herald ) OREGON 112 school districts on board ( Statesman Journal ) PENNSYLVANIA Requiring local school board and union sign-off ( Education Week Teacher Beat) Editorial: Flexibility should accompany call for innovati...

NATIONAL AFT chief vows to revise teacher-dismissal process ( Education Week ) Strong applications versus stakeholder support? (Flypaper) RttT fire drills ignore the fact that 52% 0f state application is based on PAST reform and achievement (Eduflack) ALABAMA Governor Riley links charters, Race chances ( Dothan Eagle ) FLORIDA 53 of 67 school districts on board; only 5 with union backing ( Orlando Sentinel School Zone blog) GEORGIA Governor Purdue pitches performance pay ( Atlanta Journal Constitution blog) ILLINOIS Bill to strengthen educator evaluations passes state House ( The State Journal-Register ) IOWA Legislation needed to boost state's competitiveness ( Des Moines Register ) Governor Culver presses for RttT legislation in State of the State ( Des Moines Register blog) Bill passes first legislative hurdle ( Des Moines Register blog) KENTUCKY House passes low-performing schools bill ( Louisville Courier-Journal ) LOUISIANA State board endorses application ( T...

Playing catch up following the holidays and the birth of our second child ... here are the major Race to the Top updates a week before round 1 applications are due on January 19th... NATIONAL 39 States and DC to apply in round one (U.S. Department of Education) 'Race To Top' Viewed as Template for a New ESEA ( Education Week ) 'Race To Top' Driving Policy Action Across States ( Education Week ) Two State Unions Balking at 'Race To Top' Plans ( Education Week ) CALIFORNIA Assembly passes reform bill ( Sacramento Bee ) Governor signs bill to improve state eligibility in Race; opposed by teachers' unions ( Los Angeles Times ) Governor seeks to ease teacher firings ( Los Angeles Times ) COLORADO Summary of state plan ( INDenver Times ) FLORIDA Unions: State RttT plan is 'fatally flawed' ( Orlando Sentinel ) Editorial: Unions must not walk ( Miami Herald ) Editorial: Racing to the top ( Orlando Sentinel ) ILLINOIS Editorial: State legislature t...

NATIONAL Creative RttT Lawmaking (Politics K-12) RttT Hopefuls: Clear The Week of March 15, 2010 (Politics K-12) States Struggle With Pk-20 Data ( Education Week ) CALIFORNIA State senate passes RttT reform bill (AP) Bill addresses failing schools ( San Francisco Chronicle ) Final bill could be passed "before the holidays" ( Los Angeles Times ) Assembly Speaker: Race is 'on track' ( San Jose Mercury News ) FLORIDA Teachers union says 'no' to state plan (Teacher Beat) Unions balking on Race ( Orlando Sentinel ) Florida Dems cry foul ( St. Petersburg Times - The Gradebook blog) 63 of 67 school districts sign on ( Miami Herald ) HAWAII Failure to address teacher furlough could jeopardize RttT chances ( Honolulu Star-Bulletin ) IDAHO State supe stumps for RttT ( Times-News ) Luna: Charter school cap to stay ( Times-News ) ILLINOIS RttT funds could target lowest performing schools ( Chicago Daily Herald ) INDIANA DoE rolls out RttT proposal summary ...

NATIONAL Is Race to Top an Urban Game? ( Education Week Politics K-12 Blog) Some state officials have a sneaking suspicion that Race to the Top is an urban state's game and that has made some question whether they should apply, at least in Round 1. For instance, Vermont had originally planned to apply for Round 1 of the competition, but is now going to hold off for Round 2.... The state decided to sit out the first round because of the competition's rules on charter schools. Vermont, a largely rural state, doesn't have them, but it does have some other innovative public schools, Knopf said. But, under the RttT regulations, the state can only get up to eight points for its innovative schools, out of a possible 40, since it doesn't have a charter school law. In North Dakota , state education superintendent Wayne Sanstead told Michele that it can't move quickly enough to make the Jan. 19 deadline for Round 1. Still, when the state applies in Round 2, it will develop...

NATIONAL: Who Would Have Guessed The Race Would Look Like This? (Democrats for Education Reform) 36 States to Apply in Round 1 ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) CALIFORNIA: Campaign cash from charters driving Governor's, state's goals? ( Contra Costa Times ) Editorial: Schools race to -- where, exactly? ( Los Angeles Times ) Politics, politics (AP) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: DC gets to apply, too ( Washington Post) GEORGIA: State a 'frontrunner' ( Gainesville Times ) LOUISIANA: State bid would impact teacher evaluation, pay ( The Advocate - Baton Rouge) Educators wary of state plan ( The Advocate - Baton Rouge) MARYLAND: Editorial: Gates rejection a 'wake-up call' ( Baltimore Sun ) MASSACHUSETTS: Op-ed from Stand for Children, Black Leaders for Excellence in Education ( The Boston Globe ) MICHIGAN: Race to the trough in Michigan? (Ann Arbor.com) Editorial: Legislature's 'racing', but to where? ( Lansing State Journal ) NEVADA: Editorial:...

NATIONAL: New Teacher-Evaluation Systems Face Obstacles ( Education Week ) ALABAMA: Governor touts charter schools ( Andalusia Star-News ) CALIFORNIA: Guvinator will 'veto' Assembly-passed RttT reform bill ( San Diego Union-Tribune ) Assembly passes reform bill ( Los Angeles Times ) Editorial: 'Assembly failed California's schoolchildren' ( San Jose Mercury News ) COLORADO: Educator evaluation changes focus of bill, Race ( Denver Post ) DELAWARE: State targeting students at risk of dropping out ( The News Journal ) FLORIDA: State is a serious contender ( Eduwonk ) Op-Ed: Ed commish calls Race 'a defining moment' for Florida's schools ( Miami Herald ) School districts asked to line up for Race ( St. Petersburg Times ) IDAHO: Community meetings focus on RttT (KPVI-TV) ILLINOIS: Advance Illinois advances RttT blueprint ( Catalyst Chicago ) KENTUCKY: State ed dept wil lseek authority to remove superintendents, school board members in struggling d...

NATIONAL: Eyeing stimulus money for education, states adopt reforms ( Christian Science Monitor ) States seek stimulus funds tied to education reforms (PBS NewsHour) CALIFORNIA: Parental involvement in Race to the Top (KPBS) RttT bill is divisive ( Sacramento Bee ) ILLINOIS: Hard policy work to advance RttT goals (illinoistatehousenews.com) KANSAS: State is 'well positioned' ( Lawrence Journal-World ) MICHIGAN: State Senate passes teacher tenure bill ( Detroit Free Press ) NEVADA: Special session to address Race to the Top? ( Las Vegas Review-Journal ) ------------------ Past "Updates on the Race"

Michele McNeil at Education Week has a really important story about a new Center on Education Policy report that questions whether states have the capacity to effectively implement proposed Race to the Top reforms -- and suggests that states may be applying for RttT funding primarily because they are short on cash. ...[M]ore than half the states report that their capacity to carry out stimulus-related education changes is a “major problem." In other news: DELAWARE: Plan unveiled ILLINOIS: Gov. Quinn announces leaders of RttT effort MICHIGAN: Racing to the top or slowing to a crawl? NEW JERSEY: Not applying in round one RHODE ISLAND: New laws strengthen RttT effort TENNESSEE: Is in contention TEXAS: 'The feds are coming, the feds are coming' WISCONSIN: Special session could address Milwaukee mayoral takeover

ARIZONA: State could be in contention CONNECTICUT: State to lift charter cap? MICHIGAN: Promise of federal funds forges bipartisan agreement [ Update ] MISSOURI: In the Race NEW YORK: Gates and firewalls , Bloomberg, Duncan push Race NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Purdue sees bigger picture in RttT; not just about $$$ RHODE ISLAND: State superintendent Gist leads RttT forums TEXAS: Gov. Perry is a human firewall WISCONSIN: 'Children's zones' a feature of state's application

ARKANSAS: Listening tour a state RttT strategy DELAWARE: RttT fuels changes to teacher evaluation and school turnarounds IOWA: More questions than answers? MICHIGAN: Governor Granholm touts RttT OHIO: State is in the running RHODE ISLAND: Ed commish unveils sweeping reform plan WASHINGTON: State won't apply until round two

With the President imploring more Americans to go to college and not give up on themselves or their nation, it's understandable that many policymakers want to join in and do their part. Making college more affordable is a very good place to start. And free tuition-- heck, free anything--sounds great, especially in a recession. Free tuition provided without changes to the state's operating budget or cuts to any other programs, or by digging a deeper deficit, sounds even better. That's probably why Michigan state representative Fred Durhal Jr. thinks he's got a good thing going, proposing to use a new lottery and casino profits to provide free tuition to more than 160,000 students. It's a win-win right? Says Durhal, "You can feel a little better about losing money to the house if you know it's going to go to children." Except that the money you are losing is being taken from your own children, and given to someone else's. And, since only stude...