The U.S. Senate today approved a long-stalled measure that would provide $10 billion to prevent what supporters say would be hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs nationwide. The legislation also includes some $16 billion in Medicaid aid to states, which would indirectly help K-12 education since, without the Medicaid funds, states would have had to make cuts to other programs, likely including schools. Leaders of the U.S. House of Representative, meanwhile, are taking the unusual step of calling for lawmakers to return from their August recess next week to pass the final version of the bill. The House ...

Teach for America, KIPP, Ohio State University, and the Success for All Foundation were chosen for grants of up to $50 million under the federal Investing in Innovation program.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., today said she will call the U.S. House of Representatives back next week to pass the Senate's version of the edujobs measure, which would provide $10 billion to help stave off teacher layoffs. The measure also includes $16 billion in additional Medicaid aid to states. The sooner Congress passes the legislation, the sooner the cash can begin makes its way to state and district coffers. The House was originally slated to return in mid-September, meaning the school year would already be underway before districts could be assured of the funding. The upshot: This almost ...

During a call with reporters in conjunction with the announcement of the Race to the Top Round 2 finalists, Education Secretary Arne Duncan touted the 26-point increase in average scores since the first round. Between the two rounds of competition, he said, "The movement we saw in terms of reform was extraordinary." Just how extraordinary was it? Well, to figure that out, we need to first figure out how the Education Department calculated this 26-point average increase. Officials there clarified for me that the 26-point average Duncan referred to was arrived at by comparing the average score of all Round ...

The Senate's version of a $10 billion education jobs package, which looked like it was on life support just a few days ago, has now cleared an important procedural hurdle, smoothing the way for final passage in that chamber. Senators today voted 61-38 to cut off debate on the measure, meaning that it can receive final consideration. The bill, which would provide aid to states to prevent what supporters warn would be thousands of teacher layoffs, includes some offsets to education programs, albeit not to key administration priorities, such as Race to the Top. The bill would trim $82 million ...

Remember we told you the Senate was slated to finally, finally vote on a $10 billion edujobs package tonight? Well, that didn't end up happening. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Majority Leader, pulled the legislation, which also included $16 billion in Medicaid aid for states, after a cost estimate found that the bill was not completely offset (meaning paid for) by cuts to other programs. The $26 billion piece of legislation would still have added about $5 billion in the deficit, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan agency that analyzes legislation. Moderate Democrats and some ...

U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan, who is trying to tear down those silos that dot the federal bureaucracy landscape, announced today a new interagency board on early education. This partnership between the Education Department and Health and Human Services is supposed to, according to the press release: improve the quality of early learning programs and outcomes for young children; increase the coordination of research, technical assistance and data systems; and advance the effectiveness of the early learning workforce among the major federally funded early learning programs across the two departments. Duncan has talked about such partnerships before, particularly when it ...

As she has just reported over at her own blog, my colleague and fellow blogger Lesli Maxwell is bidding adieu to Education Week. Today is her last day. Her work has intersected often with federal policy and politics. She has doggedly tracked the $4 billion being spent to turn around the nation's worst-performing schools, a priority for EdSec Arne Duncan. We teamed up to predict winners in Rounds 1 and 2 of Race to the Top. And, I think her question about charter schools was the one that most riled up Duncan when he did an hour-long interview with EdWeek ...

In advance of tonight's vote, the White House has thrown its unequivocal weight behind the edujobs measure. The administration released this statement, urging Congress to pass the bill. The Administration strongly supports Senate passage of [the measure], which would provide much-needed relief to teachers and critical assistance to hard-pressed States. Since teachers are essential to the quality of education that the Nation affords its children and to America's long-term strength and security, the Administration strongly supports the $10 billion Education Jobs Fund to avert the layoff of hundreds of thousands of public school teachers as students return to school in ...

Applicants who scored the highest in the $650 million Investing in Innovation grant competition will be announced Thursday by the Education Department, so stay tuned to this space for details on who won, who lost, and what it all means. But first, an important caveat. These applicants are not quite winners until they've secured their 20 percent private-sector match, a requirement for winning (unless they've gotten a waiver). They must do so by Sept. 8 or risk not getting their grant. While you're waiting to see who wins, read up on who wants this money, the role of philanthropies in ...