Yesterday, the Department of Education announced the next group of finalists for Race to the Top funds. The finalists include 18 states and the District of Columbia.
According to the
New York Times , the Race to the Top programs gives financial rewards ($3.4 billion is available) to those states that "show a willingness to innovate" on education reform.
The grantees will be announce in September and will likely to include 10-15 of the finalists.
More information on the program can be found
here.