Some Might Not Reach the ‘Race to the Top’ Finish Line, Duncan Says

Washington, May 29 — States and school districts insufficiently committed to education reform and innovation and reluctant to challenge the status quo will be at a “severe competitive disadvantage” when it comes to applying for $5 billion in so-called “Race to the Top” monies expected to be made available in the coming months, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said today at the National Press Club.

Even as all eyes were on a July 1 deadline recently established by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to spur the roughly two-dozen remaining states to apply for their Phase One stabilization funds for education — part of $100 billion in education funds allocated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) — Duncan was questioned about the $5 billion in competitive grants he will distribute later to improve education quality and results around the country.