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Current Legislation

Monitoring the legislative process and advocating for laws that achieve gains for students, teachers and public education are among the cornerstones of CTA's mission.

Issues & Action

Race to the Top

California has been awarded a $52.6 million federal Race to the Top (RTTT) Early Learning Challenge Grant. Separate from the regular RTTT program which is now in round 3, the Early Learning Challenge Grant will help more California children get good care and a good start at learning, which we know is key to their long-term success, at school and beyond.

The grant will primarily fund local Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) being developed by Regional Leadership Consortia - voluntary groups of local First 5 commissions, county offices of education, and county governments. These Consortia will work with licensed child care programs, school districts, and child care partners. The local QRIS are meant to make information about the quality of child-care programs readily available to parents and policymakers though simple, independent, and publicly available ratings.

Over time, the QRIS are expected to help improve the availability of high-quality, linguistically and culturally appropriate service to children with high needs. These include infants and toddlers, dual-language learners, and children with disabilities and other special needs.

To win, states had to craft rating systems for their programs, appropriate standards and tests for young children, and clear expectations for what teachers should know. California was one of nine states receiving the grant.

Read California Department of Education press release.

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More Info

Position Paper: Race to the Top

CTA formally submitted comment on RTTT

The RTTT proposal reveals that this administration is repeating the past mistakes of No Child Left Behind.

Summary: Final RTTT Regulations

US Dept of Ed's Preamble and Major Changes

RTTT is designed to provide States incentives to implement large-scale, system-changing reforms.

Round Two Concerns

Where we stand

It's unfortunate that state policy makers have failed to learn from the mistakes made during Round One and have again come up with a process that excluded stakeholders in its development.

Education Reform

There is a great deal of discussion about "education reform" in the national media. Everyone seems to think they know how best to improve our public education system. But one voice has been surprisingly left out of the debate on "education reform" - or as notable education historian Diane Ravitch refers to it, "corporate education reform": the voice of educators.

Where We Stand:

Use of Student Test Scores