Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria; Race to the Top-District rule (2013)

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The Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria; Race to the Top-District rule is a significant rule issued by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services effective September 5, 2013, that established priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria regarding the Race to the Top - District program, which aimed to promote innovation in local education agencies.[1]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- September 5, 2013: The final rule took effect.[1]
- September 5, 2013: The Department of Education published a correction to the final rule.[2]
- August 6, 2013: The Department of Education published final priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria.[1]
- May 16, 2013: The Department of Education closed the comment period.[3]
- April 16, 2013: The Department of Education published proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria and opened the comment period.[3]
Background
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The secretary of the Department of Education announced an initiative in 2012 to establish the Race to the Top-District (RTT-D) program in an effort to promote innovation in local education agencies. The U.S. Department of Education issued proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria on April 16, 2013, in an effort to direct the grant process for the RTT-D program. The proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria issued in the Federal Register outline the following goals of the program:[3]
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The priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria aimed to "enable effective grant making, resulting in the selection of high-quality applicants who propose to implement activities that the Department believes are most likely to support bold, locally directed improvements in learning and teaching that would directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness," according to the rule. Grants were awarded to local education agencies for the purpose of innovating teaching methods to promote student achievement. The last funding competition for this program was held in 2013.[1][5][6]
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:
“ | The Secretary announces priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria under the Race to the Top—District program. The Secretary may use one or more of these priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and later years.
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Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[3]
“ | This document establishes priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for the Race to the Top—District program.
In that regard, through this competition, the Department will encourage and reward those local educational agencies (LEAs) or consortia of LEAs that have the leadership and vision to implement the strategies, structures, and systems that the Department believes are needed to implement personalized, student-focused approaches to learning and teaching that will produce excellence and ensure equity for all students. The priorities, definitions, requirements, and selection criteria are designed to help LEAs meet these goals. As stated in the notice of proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria (NPP) (published in the Federal Register on April 16, 2013 (78 FR 22451)), most changes from the FY 2012 competition reflect minor language clarifications. The two substantive changes are the removal of the opportunity to apply for an optional budget supplement and the reduction of the minimum and maximum grant amount for which an applicant may apply. We believe these changes enable the Department to maximize the number of grantees that would receive funding under a competition, while still awarding grants of sufficient size to support bold improvements in learning and teaching. In addition, this document includes some revisions from the NPP. We discuss changes from the NPP in greater detail in the Analysis of Comments and Changes section.
Under Priority 1, applicants must design a personalized learning environment that uses collaborative, data-based strategies and 21st-century tools, such as online learning platforms, computers, mobile devices, and learning algorithms, to deliver instruction and supports tailored to the needs and goals of each student, with the aim of enabling all students to graduate college- and career-ready. Implementation of a personalized learning environment is not achieved through a single solution or product but rather requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses the individual and collective needs of students, educators, and families and that dramatically transforms the learning environment in order to improve student outcomes.
Through Race to the Top—District, the Department will continue to support high-quality proposals from applicants across a varied set of LEAs in order to create diverse models of personalized learning environments for use by LEAs across the Nation. For this reason, the Department is establishing four additional priorities. Priorities 2 through 5 support efforts to expand the types of reform efforts being implemented in LEAs in States that have received a Race to the Top Phase 1, 2, or 3 award and to LEAs in other States. Moreover, these priorities also help ensure that LEAs of varying sizes, both rural and non-rural, and with different local contexts, are able to implement innovative personalized learning environments for their students that can serve as models for other LEAs and help improve student achievement widely.
Finally, we establish one additional priority to support applicants that propose to extend their reforms beyond the classroom and partner with public or private entities in order to address the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of students, particularly students who attend a high-need school.[4] |
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Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) deemed this rule economically significant pursuant to Executive Order 12866. An agency rule can be deemed a significant rule if it has had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. The term was defined by E.O. 12866, which was issued in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.[1]
Text of the rule
The full text of the rule is available below:[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Federal Register, "Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria; Race to the Top-District," August 6, 2013
- ↑ Federal Register, "Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria: Race to the Top-District Program; Correction," September 5, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Federal Register, "Proposed Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Critiera-Race to the Top-District [CFDA Number: 84.416," April 16, 2013]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "Race to the Top District (RTT-D)," accessed May 10, 2023
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "Race to the Top District (RTT-D)," accessed May 10, 2023