The National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) join NASBE to submit a joint letter of recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) concerning the recently proposed federal Race to the Top Program competition for eligible local school districts/local education agencies (LEAs). The Department will release the final application for LEAs in July with the application deadline in October. The Department will announce the grantees for the $400 million competition by December 31.
The organizations recommends the following to the Department:
- District applications must be consistent with state laws and regulations
- Competition should promote state and local partnerships
- Should align with state efforts to implement other federal grant programs and initiatives
- Competition must not pose additional requirements upon states
- Competition should ensure rural participation
- LEAs should be eligible to apply with state consent
- Competition should be open to all American territories