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School districts will soon be asked to provide the aggregate salaries of staff at each of their schools under a push by Congress and the Obama administration to beef up the Title I comparability provision.

The longstanding provision requires Title I schools to receive a share of state and local funds that is "comparable" to non-Title I schools in the same district. The theory is that only if Title I funds are added to a level playing field can they have their intended effect of granting high-poverty schools additional assistance.

Washington, Aug. 21 — The largest grant awards from the $650 million Invest in Innovation competition will go toward school district and non-profit programs that show evidence of success and are capable of being replicated on a large scale, U.S. Department of Education (ED) officials said yesterday.

The formal framework for the competition, also known as the "i3" fund, has yet to be announced, but ED officials are releasing details early in order to give applicants time to prepare.

Registration for the mandatory stimulus reporting Web site opened this week in anticipation of the first required reports in October.

State and local governments, contractors, universities, non-profits and others that have received a grant, loan or contract of $25,000 or more under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 are required to register on the website, www.FederalReporting.gov. The site is a key element of the Obama administration's pledge of unprecedented transparency and public accountability for spending under the ARRA.

Washington, August 25 — Nearly $60 million in Impact Aid grants is now available to fund emergency school repairs — especially those that can be finished relatively quickly — under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

In terms of ambition, the $4 billion Race to the Top competition lives up to the "moon shot" metaphor attached to it by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Its proposed requirements and selection criteria contain any number of provisions that, if adopted, could radically alter the K-12 landscape. Much of the attention has focused on the guidelines' linkage between student achievement and teacher evaluations, but the draft also asks for evidence that states have made education funding a priority, raised achievement and closed gaps, ensured the equitable distribution of effective teachers and principals, and turned around struggling schools.