From the Editor
ESEA Flexibility, RTTT Round Three
Anne Wujcik — Friday, November 18, 2011
The Department of Education continues to move forward on a number of fronts. Eleven states, (CO, FL, GA, IN, KY, MA, MN, NJ, NM, OK, TN) submitted requests for ESEA flexibility by the November 14 deadline. The Department also announced that the nine states that are eligible (AZ, CA, CO, IL, KY, LA, NJ, PA, SC) to apply for a share of the remaining $200 million in Race to the Top funds have until November 22 to submit the first part of their application. Even though these states will be retooling their Round Two Race to the Top proposals, it will be a big job. The same was true for states applying for ESEA flexibility. Most states needed more time to get their requests together. Thirty-nine states have submitted non-binding intents to request ESEA flexibility, so if everyone follows through, at least 28 states will be submitting flexibility requests.
The Department's ESEA Flexibility page indicates that the second flexibility application window will open in mid-February, but there is some indication the Department may decide to take requests on a rolling basis, which might help ease the burden for peer reviewers. Twenty-one peer reviewers have been named to handle the December reviews.
When a third round of (greatly reduced) Race to the Top funding was made available for FY 2011, the Department of Education limited the applicant pool to the nine Round Two finalists. By Nov 22 the states will need to submit assurances confirming their commitment to comprehensive statewide education reform. Assurances will include information such as state funding for education and efforts to enhance data systems, raise academic standards, and improve evaluation systems. Once assurances are reviewed and approved by the Department, states will be eligible to submit part two of their applications, a detailed plan and budget explaining how the selected reform effort will have a broader impact in supporting student learning and improving STEM education. Proposed STEM investments can be incorporated from a state's round two plan by selecting a dedicated STEM activity or including a STEM focus within one of Race to the Top's four core education reform areas.
Given the range of possible grant awards - $12.5 million to $49 million - the states will be focusing on a limited set of activities from their Round Two applications. Though the states will have to focus they also need to keep their efforts tied to the overarching frameworks they established for statewide reform in their Round Two applications. It may well be that we will see more practical (and replicable) models coming out of Round Three efforts. It certainly should be easier to measure the effectiveness of this more focused effort. I have always been concerned that the very global plans set forth in the original Race to the Top applicatons could easily become theoretical exercises rather than hand-on, systemic reform efforts. I expect that these Round Three applications will make for interesting reading.
Our next News Alert issue will be published on December 2. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, shared with those you care for most. Good food, good company, good cheer! We all have so much to be thnakful for. In particular I am blessed to be part of the extended EdNET community and thank each of you for your support and interest. I look forward to seeing many of you In New York City at month's end for the week's round of special activities.
