Update
Special Edition: Race to the Top Announcement
On Friday, July 24, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released proposed priorities, requirements, and selection criteria for the $4 billion Race to the Top Fund (RTTT), enacted by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). RTTT represents a major ARRA leverage point for education reform by providing competitive grants to states to reward and support education reform in the four priority policy areas identified in the ARRA's State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF): promoting college- and career-ready standards and aligned, improved assessments; enhancing teacher effectiveness and promoting the equitable distribution of effective teachers for low-income and minority children; strengthening state longitudinal data systems that foster fuller collection, sharing, and use of data; and supporting the turn around of chronically underperforming schools.
More information about RTTT is available at the Department of Education's website. Click on the following links to read EducationCounsel's Initial Summary and Analysis of the RTTT announcement and to view our Initial "Blueprint" for State Planning and Development.
The Department of Education also released guidance on the Enhancing Education through Technology (Ed Tech) Program (for more information, click here) and a Request for Applications for Grants for the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Program (for more information, click here).
-This week on Capitol Hill:
On Thursday, July 30, the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education of the House Committee on Science and Technology will hold a hearing entitled "A Systems Approach to Improving K-12 STEM Education" at 10 AM in 2318 Rayburn.
Federal Register Announcements
Notice Inviting Applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009; Office of Innovation and Improvement; Charter Schools Program (CSP) Grants to Non-State Educational Agencies for Planning, Program Design, and Implementation and for Dissemination; CFDA Numbers 84.282B and 84.282C [OII]
Overview Information; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities--Leadership Preparation in Sensory Disabilities; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, CFDA Number 84.325V [OSERS]
Overview Information; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--Center on Accessible and Supported Electronic Text To Improve Mathematics Achievement for Students With Disabilities; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, CFDA Number 84.327H [OSERS]
Overview Information; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)--Secondary Conditions in Rehabilitation of Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury (SCI); Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, CFDA Number 84.133B-12 [OSERS]
Overview Information; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Training and Advisory Services Program--Technical Assistance for Student Assignment Plans; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, CFDA Number 84.004F [OESE]
Overview Information; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)--Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Interventions; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, CFDA Number 84.133B-11 [OSERS]
Overview Information; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)--Enhancing the Health and Wellness of Individuals With Arthritis; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, CFDA Number 84.133B-9 [OSERS]
Overview Information; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs)--Enhancing the Health and Wellness of Individuals With Neuromuscular Diseases, Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2009, CFDA) Number: 84.133B-10. [OSERS]
Overview Information; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Technical Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities--National Center on Postsecondary Outcomes for Students With Disabilities (CFDA) Number: 84.326U [OSERS]
New Legislation
H.R.3230: To establish within the National Science Foundation the Innovation Inspiration school grant program, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hodes, Paul W. [NH-2] (introduced 7/16/2009)
H.R.3259: To establish the Grants for College Access and Completion Program.
Sponsor: Rep Inslee, Jay [WA-1] (introduced 7/20/2009)
H.R.3277/S.1480: To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to establish a program to improve the health and education of children through grants to expand school breakfast programs, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4]; Sen Kohl, Herb [WI] (introduced 7/21/2009)
H.R.3293: Making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Obey, David R. [WI-7] (introduced 7/22/2009)
H.R.3295: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the provisions prohibiting persons convicted of drug offenses from receiving student financial assistance.
Sponsor: Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] (introduced 7/22/2009)
S.1460: A bill to amend title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for college retention challenge grants.
Sponsor: Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH] (introduced 7/16/2009)
