U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Welcomes Announcement that Arizona is Finalist for Major Education Grant

Press Release

Department of Education says state clears first hurdle for Race to the Top funding

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords welcomed today's announcement from the U.S. Department of Education that Arizona is among finalists for a Race to the Top grant, the largest federal education grant ever awarded.

"I am thrilled that the Department of Education has recognized the excellence of Arizona's proposals to improve its education system," Giffords said today. "I will do whatever I can to ensure that Arizona is a winner in the next phase of competition and receives one of these grants."

In May, when Arizona submitted its application for the grants, Giffords wrote a letter expressing her "unqualified support."

"It is imperative that the state of Arizona rebuild its education system and move forward with comprehensive reform so that every child has the skills necessary to compete in a global labor market," Giffords wrote in her May letter. "The students of Arizona deserve nothing less."

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Arizona, 17 other states and the District of Columbia are finalists for the grants. Thirty-six states submitted applications. It is not known how many states will receive grants.

The other finalists are California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

Duncan today said representatives of the finalist states will be invited to Washington the week of Aug. 9 "to clarify the materials already provided to the department and give you a chance to respond to questions from reviewers."

This is the second round of Race to the Top grants. Arizona applied for the first round of grants but was not among finalists announced in March.

The first two rounds of grants will include about $4 billion in awards. President Obama has asked Congress to approve an additional $1.35 billion for future rounds of Race to the Top grants.

In a letter to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and the governors of other finalist states, Duncan wrote: "Through your application for Race to the Top, you … are eliminating barriers to reform, aligning federal funds to support comprehensive state reform plans, developing new partnerships and engaging in candid forward-thinking conversations with a broad group of stakeholders about improving education."

Duncan's letter continued: "All of this hard work will lay the foundation for transformational change in our education system, help secure our role in the global economy and ensure that our children share fully in the blessings of a strong and growing America."

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