Want to know how much money your state could get from the education jobs legislation introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, last week, or similar legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last year? Check out this chart from the Education Commission of the States. Or this one from the National Education Association, which also compares the potential boost to the size of potential grants made available under Race to the Top competition....

The application deadline for the second round of Race to the Top isn't until June 1, but we've got one good gauge of which states may be applying, and which may be sitting the competition out. Today, in Minneapolis, the U.S. Department of Education is holding an all-day technical assistance seminar for potential round two applicants. (People can also participate via conference call.) Forty-twoForty-three states plus D.C. are attending, or tuning in remotely. The states that, for whatever reason, are not participating, are: Alaska, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. UPDATE: Michigan is apparently ...

The U.S. Department of Education has posted a spreadsheet listing the more than 2,000 districts, schools, and nonprofits that plan to apply for the $650 million Investing in Innovation grant. If the thought of opening an Excel spreadsheet intimidates you, there's also a convenient summary of the intents-to-apply. This list is a compilation of those who told the department, by April 1, that they plan to apply for these competitive grants. This was more of a courtesy for the department so officials could figure out what kind of workload is in store for them and the peer reviewers. ...

So now that the first round of winners have been announced, powerful members of Congress are starting to question the scoring system for the Race to the Top program. During a hearing of today of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees education spending, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., went off on the Race to the Top's 500-point scoring system. (Remember, Louisiana was a finalist and widely viewed as a front-runner, but then came in 11th.) Some folks said that Louisiana's plan was bolder than the two winners, Delaware and Tennessee. But those states had near universal support from districts and unions. ...

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today officially called on Congress to pass a second round of funding to help states thwart layoffs and programmatic cuts. This is a big deal because, up to now, the administration hadn't officially asked for more education jobs money, even though the House passed this bill last year. So far, the Senate has been the holdout. But Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations panel that oversees education funding, is set to introduce a bill that would provide $23 billion in education jobs aid. Duncan testified before Harkin's panel this morning. I ...

More money for schools contemplating layoffs, furloughs, and other cuts? It could happen if a bill set to be introduced this week by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, gains traction. Harkin, who is the chairman of both the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees education spending, is set to release a bill that would provide $23 billion to help schools keep teachers and other staff on the payroll, once funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dry up (the so-called "funding cliff" you've heard so much about). The measure's $23 billion Education ...

Goodwin H. Liu, a prominent constitutional scholar from the University of California-Berkeley who's an expert in educational equity issues such as desegregation, has a fight on his hands as he faces a confirmation hearing Friday for a post on the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. But a bipartisan group of education policy experts, from Stanford's Linda Darling-Hammond to AEI's Rick Hess, are rallying to his defense. This Washington Post story story explains why Liu is so controversial, energizing the left and outraging the right as he supports traditionally liberal issues such as same-sex marriage and affirmative action. His appellate ...

The list of those who say they intend to apply for the $650 million Investing in Innovation grants isn't online yet, but the U.S. Department of Education has offered a glimpse into the future of i3. UPDATED: This document has mysteriously disappeared from the education department's web site. I'll try to find out what happened to it and why. In the meantime, we're still waiting for the department to post the full list of those who intend to apply, as they did in Race to the Top. First, every state plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had ...

No big plans this weekend? Well, the U.S. Department of Education has you covered. Grab the popcorn and the Junior Mints and invite your friends over for a Race to the Top presentation movie marathon. Yes, the department has posted the videos of every finalist's presentation so you can avoid the crowded multiplex and savor this true Clash of the Titans. Sorry, action figures of the panel of judges aren't available yet. Here's a quick hit review from Lesli Maxwell over at the State EdWatch blog. And when you're done with your viewing party, head on over to the ...

The U.S. Department of Education has given the green light to the $350 million Race to the Top assessment competition, which will award grants to groups of states to create rigorous common tests to complement the common standards effort already underway. UPDATED: Read Catherine Gewertz's comprehensive story here. The $350 million is part of the larger $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund grant program. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced in June 2009 he wanted to peel off $350 million to help states create the "next generation of assessments." According to the final regulations out today, a ...