18 states, D.C. 'Race to Top' finalists

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Education Department Tuesday named D.C. and 18 states as finalists for more than $3 billion in second-round funding in the Race to the Top program.

The finalists were picked from 35 states and the District of Columbia that submitted "bold blueprints for reform," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said.

"Peer reviewers identified these 19 finalists as having the boldest plans, but every state that applied will benefit from this process of collaboratively creating a comprehensive education reform agenda," Duncan said in remarks prepared for delivery at the National Press Club in Washington. "Much of the federal dollars we distribute though other channels can support their plan to raise standards, improve teaching, use data more effectively to support student learning, and turn around under-performing schools."

The 19 finalists are: Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

The winners will be announced in September.

The Obama administration is using its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition to spur education reform. The department is reserving $350 million for a separate competition to support states creating the next generation of assessments that will support reform.

Delaware and Tennessee won grants in the first round.