Thirty-five states, plus the District of Columbia, have submitted proposals for Race to the Top dollars in hopes of capturing some of the remaining $3.4 billion in funds leftover from the first round. Only two states, Delaware and Tennessee, were awarded grants in the first round out of 40 applicants.  

After the first round of funds, many states re-examined submitted proposals. While other states, such as Washington, tried to learn from the first round in order to strengthen their application in the second round of funding.

As a result many states changed laws to revamp teacher evaluations, increased efforts to gain support from districts and teachers’ unions, and intensified efforts to turn around low-performing schools. Washington drafted and passed new legislation in the 2010 supplemental session (SB 6696) that included several education reform measures (i.e. alternate routes to teacher education).

The results for the second round of Race to the Top dollars will be announced in September 2010.