Tweet
Back before the Race to the Top Round One winners were announced, I wondered whether the Education Department would select winners from states with influential members of Congress, who might be able to help U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan move his agenda.
Of course, the selection process was set up in a way intended to assure that political influence was not a factor in determining who actually won—no state got extra points for being the home of a powerful member of Congress.
But politics could be part of the fallout, including the question of whether the Race to the Top program gets extended for another year and ultimately is authorized under the new version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (There’s money in two spending bills right now for it to continue for another year.)
In Round One, the winning states also happened to be home to two key Republicans in Congress, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, and Rep. M