May 29: Duncan: "Anti-Charter States Will Lose Stimulus Dollars"

Duncan: Anti-Charter States Will Lose Stimulus Dollars
According to the Associated Press, Education Secretary Duncan said yesterday states that do not embrace charter schools will hurt their chances to compete for millions of federal stimulus dollars. Responding to a question about Tennessee, whose Democratic lawmakers have blocked an effort to make more kids eligible to attend charters, Duncan said: "There are a number of states that are leading this effort, and we want to invest a huge amount of money into them, a minimum of $100 million, probably north of that. And the states that don't have the stomach or the political will, unfortunately, they're going to lose out." Tennessee has one of the most restrictive charter school laws in the country, with the number of charters capped at 50, and only failing students or students at failing schools eligible to attend. Gotham Schools reported that last week Duncan told Congress that he will give preference to states without caps on the number of charter schools. This could put the next round of stimulus funding out of reach for New York, which caps charters at 200 schools statewide.

Sources: Associated Press:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iQ72cmvb2846meWCIAJArK1w2HmAD98FJOV00, Gotham Schools, http://gothamschools.org/2009/05/28/new-york-could-be-boxed-out-of-duncans-race-to-the-top-funds/