EDUCATIONREFORMFEDERALANDSTATEEFFORTS.pdfVIP

EDUCATION REFORM: FEDERAL AND STATE EFFORTS BACKGROUND Several key federal and state efforts are underway to improve student achievement and boost the important work in local districts. At the Board meeting, we will provide an update of current efforts and why this work is critical to the Board’s goal to improve student achievement and work on accountability. A. Federal Initiatives The federal government has a number of major efforts1 to stimulate education reform in states. This memo highlights three: 1) the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with fiscal stabilization funding for states; 2) a competitive grant process “Race to the Top” (RTTT), to stimulate reform in states; and 3) draft revised guidelines for school improvement. A comparative chart is provided below to show how the three efforts interrelate in terms of expectations: Federal Stimulus Race to the Top School Improvement Funding Phase 2 Competitive Grant Proposed Guidelines for Funding Funding $1 billion. State has $4.35 billion total (state $45 million. received two thirds of allocations vary). those funds to date.2 Up to $500,000 for each Washington will need to State will allocate at least school, per year, for apply for a second round 50% to school districts. three years allocated to of stabilization funding districts with Title I or this October and must Title I eligible schools demonstrate its progress on the fo