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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Race To The Top Round Three: 7 States Apply For Federal Education Funds, California Denied

Race To The Top Round Three: 7 States Apply For Federal Education Funds, California Denied:

Race To The Top Round Three: 7 States Apply For Federal Education Funds, California Denied

Arne Duncan Race To The Top

John Fensterwald and Kathy Baron First Posted: 11/26/11 10:20 AM ET Updated: 11/26/11 12:52 PM ET

This story comes to us courtesy of Silicon Valley Education Foundation's Thoughts On Public Education blog, TopEd.org.

In another cockfight between California and Washington over education, the U.S. Department of Education has rejected California's application - and only California's application - in the third round of Race to the Top. The denial exasperated the seven California school districts that led the state's effort and were counting on $49 million earmarked for California as critical to do the work they had committed to do.

In a statement Wednesday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Board of Education President Michael Kirst each criticized the federal government's inflexibility in not accepting what they described as California's "innovative" approach of giving control of the reforms to local school districts. Seven unified districts,