Assembly to reconvene early to debate school reform
By Sharon Noguchi/San Jose Mercury News
The California State Assembly will reconvene in December, a month earlier than planned, to hasten the state's pursuit of federal Race to the Top stimulus funds, Speaker Karen Bass said Wednesday. States are scrambling to refine laws so they can merit a share of $4.35 billion in federal monies to improve education. Earlier, Bass, D-Los Angeles, had said she thought the Assembly could deal with education reform after it reconvened on Jan. 4. But state Department of Education officials said that timeline would not leave them enough time to compile a competitive application by the Obama administration's mid-January deadline. The Assembly's Education Committee will consider Race to the Top bills on Dec. 9, committee Chairwoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, said Wednesday. (more...)