Here’s a quick look at the news from last week (August 26 – 30) in Washington.  

Administration
The Administration announced preliminary information on the process and requirements for renewal of state ESEA waivers for states which have waivers expiring at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Additional guidance is expected to be announced in September.

On August 28, the Administration released the application for the second Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) competition, which will provide $280 million in state-level competitive grants to improve the quality of early learning and development programs.

Secretary Duncan and senior officials will visit four states and dozens of cities across the American Southwest as part of the Department’s fourth annual Back to School bus tour September 9 -13.  Stops will highlight education successes and engage communities in conversations about, among other topics, early learning, K-12 reforms, and college affordability and completion.  Immediately preceding the Secretary’s bus tour (September 4-6), the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics will travel through south and west Texas. The outreach tour will make nine stops in seven cities.  Stops will focus on parental engagement, teacher preparation, and STEM education strategies in the Hispanic community.

Budget
Talks between a group of Republican Senators and the White House over a budget compromise have stalled. Congress and the White House will have until September 30th to reach agreement on a continuing resolution or face a federal government shutdown.

House and Senate
The House and Senate were in recess this past week and are scheduled to reconvene on September 9^th.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Penn Hill Group provides a weekly list of grant opportunities, and summaries for select grants, including Race to the Top-District. Please visit our website for more information.