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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 ...

UPDATED! NATIONAL List of Contending States Grows ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) 37 States to Apply in Round 1 ( Education Week Politics K-12 blog) Will Local Teachers' Unions Sign Off On State RttT Plans? ( Education Week Teacher Beat blog) A RttT Scorecard (National Council on Teacher Quality) A Race to Nowhere ( Education Week - Bridging Differences blog) FLORIDA Editorial: Districts should embrace teacher merit pay and RttT ( Orlando Sentinel ) KENTUCKY Districts sign off on RttT ( The State Journal - Frankfort) MAINE In for round 2 (Maine School Management Association) MASSACHUSETTS RttT bill weakened, critics charge ( Boston Globe ) Commentary: Whose needs come first in schools? ( Boston Globe ) MINNESOTA Teachers' union may withhold support for state application (Minneapolis Star Tribune ) NEVADA Legislative attempt to qualify for competition ( Las Vegas Sun ) NEW YORK Governor Paterson: Raise charter school cap ( New York Post ) OHIO Troubled wat...

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: 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"

ALABAMA: Gov. Riley to push for charter schools MARYLAND: Gov. O'Malley says state is working on RttT MASSACHUSETTS: State senate passes 'sweeping' ed changes , Gov. Patrick challenges House to do its part NEVADA: Gov. Gibbons wants law change to compete for RttT

California: The tortoise wins? Colorado: A road map Maryland: Late to the starting line Massachusetts: Reform to put a spring in its step? Nevada: Out of the running