SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL: Mr. Simitian goes to Washington to lobby for schools
by J.M. Brown
State Sen. Joe Simitian met with three top federal education officials in Washington on Tuesday to assure them that a bill awaiting the governor’s signature would qualify California for a piece of the $4.3 billion Race to the Top fund. [...]
The Race to the Top funds, part of the federal stimulus package passed in February, reward states that establish a clear plan for implementing consistent standards and establishing a data system that tracks students from the earliest years through college. The federal government also wants to see charter school expansion and plans to fix low-performing schools where nagging achievement gaps persist.
But to compete for the money, which is largest amount of discretionary funding ever allocated for education reform, a state has to meet a number of requirements that federal officials thought California lacked.
In his meeting with Russlynn H. Ali, assistant secretary of education for civil rights, and two other officials Simitian said he received assurances that his bill addressed concerns that state law prevented schools from using scores to weigh teacher performance.