Federal

Obama Coaxes States to Change With School Dollars

By The Associated Press — November 04, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

President Barack Obama challenged states Wednesday to get their education policies in line with his administration’s priorities if they want a chance at $5 billion in grants.

“If you’re willing to hold yourselves more accountable, if you develop a strong plan to improve the quality of education in your state, we’ll offer you a grant to help make that plan a reality,” Obama said while speaking at a Wisconsin middle school.

Marking one year since his victory in the presidential election, Obama said his administration’s first obligation was bringing the U.S. economy back from the brink of collapse. But long-term economic success, he said, can only be achieved by making investments in education.

“There is nothing that will determine the quality of our future as a nation or the lives our children more than the kind of education we provide them,” he said.

Obama came to Wisconsin a day before state lawmakers planned to vote to lift a ban on using student test scores to judge teacher performance. The Obama administration has said that such restrictions would hurt a state’s chances of getting part of the $5 billion competitive grant fund, dubbed “Race to the Top.”

Obama called on all states to follow the example set by Wisconsin and nine other states that have taken steps to rewrite education laws and cut deals with unions that oppose some of those changes.

The $5 billion grants are the most money a president has ever had for overhauling schools. Only Education Secretary Arne Duncan — not Congress — has control over how its doled out. And only some states, perhaps 10 to 20, will actually get the money.

The administration can’t really tell states and schools what to do, since education has been largely a state and local responsibility throughout the history of the U.S. But the $5 billion grant fund, which was set aside in the economic stimulus law, gives Obama considerable leverage.

Obama sees the test score data and charter schools, which are publicly funded but independent of local school boards, as solutions to the problems that plague public education.

The national teachers unions disagree. They say student achievement is much more than a score on a standardized test and that it’s a mistake to rely so heavily on charter schools.

Associated Press Writer Julie Pace wrote this story. AP Education Writer Libby Quaid contributed to this report from Washington.

Related Tags:

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Opinion Student Literacy Rates Are Concerning. How Can We Turn This Around?
The ranking Republican senator on the education committee wants to hear from educators and families about making improvements.
6 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Federal Biden Calls for Teacher Pay Raises, Expanded Pre-K in State of the Union
President Joe Biden highlighted a number of his education priorities in a high-stakes speech as he seeks a second term.
5 min read
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
Shawn Thew/Pool via AP
Federal Low-Performing Schools Are Left to Languish by Districts and States, Watchdog Finds
Fewer than half of district plans for improving struggling schools meet bare minimum requirements.
11 min read
A group of silhouettes looks across a grid with a public school on the other side.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Federal Biden Admin. Says New K-12 Agenda Tackles Absenteeism, Tutoring, Extended Learning
The White House unveiled a set of K-12 priorities at the start of an election year.
4 min read
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona participates in a roundtable discussion with students from Dartmouth College on Jan. 10, 2024, on the school's campus, in Hanover, N.H.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona participates in a roundtable discussion with students from Dartmouth College on Jan. 10, 2024, on the school's campus, in Hanover, N.H.
Steven Senne/AP