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The new bill would codify many of the priorities the U.S. Department of Education emphasized in creating the initial $4.35 billion Race to the Top program. It would authorize $1.35 billion for the program next year and open the competition to school districts, as well as states.
Grantees would have to show they were improving outcomes for all students, closing achievement gaps, and boosting high school graduation and college enrollment rates, as well as addressing charter schools, teacher quality and distribution, data systems, turning around low-performing schools, and standards and assessments.
Rep. Polis acknowledged that the bill likely wouldn’t pass this year, but he said it ultimately could be rolled into a broader reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
