Assembly needs to address fed fund bill

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has released the final guidelines for the Race to the Top federal education grants and states now have only 60 days to pass necessary legislation and craft applications to qualify for the funding.

Earlier this month, the California Senate passed SB 1-5X, authored by Sen. Bob Huff and other members of the Senate Education Committee.

So far the Assembly has dragged its feet and has signaled it would not address the legislation until as late as January. But if the lower house does not act, they are going to preclude California from $700 million dollars in education funding and future on-going funds, not to mention much needed reforms for struggling schools, according to a news release from Huff's office.

"As the Senate has shown with the passage of SB 1-5X, having areas of disagreementdoes not preclude us from having areas of agreement," Huff said.

He said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass needs to bring in the members for a vote as soon as possible.  Under the 60 day timeline outlined by Duncan, January would be too late as the final application is incredibly involved, which entails consulting with various school districts as well as with the Attorney General's Office, Huff said.

"There is no excuse to wait until the legislature normally convenes in January," Huff said.

"Republicans and Democrats must work together to improve our schools and end the failed status-quo which has been protected by powerful special interests for too long," Huff said.

"Parents, local teachers, and students want change and action."

California will only be competitive for Race to the Top federal grants if SB 1-5X is passed and signed by the governor, Huff said.

The Race to the Top Fund provides competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform.

Huff represents the 29th District, which includes San Dimas, Claremont, Diamond Bar, La Verne, Chino Hills and part of Chino.