Public schools: Race to the Top application.

The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) , provides $4.3 billion for the State Incentive Grant Fund (Race to the Top Fund) , which is a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward states that are implementing specified educational reforms in 4 specified areas: (1) achieving equity in teacher distribution, (2) improving collection and use of data, (3) implementing standards and assessments, and (4) supporting struggling schools. The ARRA requires a Governor to apply on behalf of a state seeking a Race to the Top grant, and requires the application to include specified information. The federal Secretary of Education has issued proposed regulations for the Race to the Top Fund. This bill would require the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the President of the State Board of Education to ensure that California's application for a grant under the Race to the Top Fund includes specified provisions, including, among others, a limit on the amount of grant funds that may be used for expenditures that occur at the State Department of Education and county offices of education, and for administrative costs of local educational agencies. The bill would require the application to include the 4 core elements identified in the Multiple Pathways approach to school reform, as specified. The bill would require participating local educational agencies, no later than January 1, 2011, to have their governing bodies approve an alternative performance-based incentive compensation package for certificated staff and school administrators, as specified. The bill would require the application to include provisions for the closure of failing schools, beginning in July 2012, and to include a commitment from the State Department of Education to have proposed a new, transparent process for funding California pupils based on a weighted formula. The bill would require the application to include provisions to redesign statewide tests, as specified.