So, it appears that the grant announcements for the 132 Head Start grants identified for designation renewal (aka, recompetition), which were forecast to be posted on Friday, March 23, have not, as of this blog post, yet been posted. It’s possible that this is just an example of the federal government, as it sometimes does, moving slower than expected. But some observers speculate that there could be a bigger delay here, perhaps due to a lawsuit brought against HHS over the designation renewal. I don’t know what the story is, but will post here as I learn more.
That’s one big federal early childhood story didn’t happen late last week; here’s another that did. The First Five Years Fund reports that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, speaking before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education this past Thursday, indicated that the administration will use a portion of Race to the Top funds appropriated for 2012 to fund another round of state-level Early Learning Challenge grants. Previous administration communications had suggested that all the funds would be used for grants to districts to support P-12 reform at the school district level.
UPDATE: A representative from HHS confirms that the absence of a release on Friday is not indicative of a larger degree, and that HHS is on track to release the grant applications “very soon.” Stay tuned!