Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan at a back-to-school youth rally in Sacramento Sept. 3 to ensure California will be eligible to compete for federal Race to the Top funds.
In addition to encouraging young people to take an active role in their education, Schwarzenegger also called on the Legislature to act quickly to enact statutory changes aimed at ensuring California will be eligible and highly competitive for Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion federal grant program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act designed to support education reform and innovation.
“I again call on the Legislature to act quickly to pass the reforms in my legislative package, which will help us better serve California’s children and ensure California is eligible and highly competitive for this much-needed education funding,” Schwarzenegger said.
California was deemed ineligible to apply for RTTT, following the July 24 announcement of federal eligibility and selection criteria for states to compete.
The governor convened a special legislative session during which his proposed eligibility reforms were introduced as SBX5 1, a bipartisan legislative measure by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, and Sen. Mark Wyland, R-Carlsbad.
“I am hopeful the education package Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed will garner the support it needs to pass, ultimately removing a legislative barrier that prohibits the state from distinguishing good teachers from bad teachers …,” Duncan said. “The larger reform agenda will involve tough decisions that will not only require the political will of the governor, but also that of the elected officials, unions, legislators and community leaders.”
Linking student achievement and teacher performance data; measures to turn around struggling schools; repeal of California’s charter school cap; and giving parents more freedom to choose the school that best serves their children are among the criteria in RTTT.
The grant aims to focus efforts on the bottom 5 percent of lowest-performing schools, and includes rewards for teachers who are consistently doing the toughest jobs.
ACSA has taken the position that, while ensuring California’s eligibility for Race to the Top is important, the state should not adopt accountability changes that will ultimately set back efforts at meaningful reform.
Click here to find the text of a letter to Duncan stating ACSA’s position.
A select group of ACSA principal leaders and staff worked last week to discuss strategy on SBX5 1, which will be heard in special session in the coming weeks.