Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were named finalists Tuesday in the second round of the federal "Race to the Top" school reform grant competition, giving them a chance to receive a share of $3.4 billion.
The states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
A story from the AP says, the competition rewards ambitious reforms aimed at improving struggling schools and closing the achievement gap.
Applications were screened by a panel of peer reviewers, and finalists will travel to Washington in coming weeks to present their proposals.
In all, 35 states and the District of Columbia applied for the second round of the application. The 19 finalists have asked for $6.2 billion, though only $3.4 billion is available.
Second round winners will be announced in September.
Click here to read more of this story from the AP.
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