Article 1. General Provisions of California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 28. >> Chapter 18. >> Article 1.

For the purposes of implementing the federal Race to the Top program established by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5):
  (a) The Superintendent and the President of the state board may enter into a memorandum of understanding with a local educational agency.
  (b) Participating local educational agencies shall enter into a memorandum of understanding, with the Superintendent and the President of the state board, that meets the requirements expressed in the Race to the Top guidelines and that is signed by as many as possible of each participating local educational agency's:
  (1) Superintendent of schools, or their equivalents.
  (2) President of the local governing boards, or their equivalents.
  (3) Leader of any local collective bargaining unit for teachers, if applicable.

(a) The Governor, the Superintendent, and the state board shall jointly develop a single high-quality plan or multiple plans, in collaboration with participating local educational agencies, as necessary, to submit as part of an application for federal Race to the Top funds, authorized under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
  (b) The plan shall include a budget or expenditure plan consistent with the requirements of the Race to the Top program and application. At a minimum, the plan shall address how the Race to the Top program funds and any other applicable federal funds shall be used to provide resources to the low-achieving and persistently lowest-achieving schools as defined in this chapter. These resources may include, but are not necessarily limited to, professional development, technical assistance, and partnering with schools that have successfully transitioned from low- to higher-performing status.
  (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that funding for local educational agencies be the highest priority in the allocation of Race to the Top program funds.

(a) On or before January 1, 2011, the Superintendent shall contract for an independent evaluation of the implementation and impact of the state plan submitted in application for a federal Race to the Top Fund competitive grant award.
  (b) On or before September 1, 2010, the Superintendent shall convene a working group consisting of staff representing the policy and fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's Office, the Department of Finance, the Governor, the state board, and the department to do all of the following:
  (1) Jointly develop the parameters of the evaluation.
  (2) Make recommendations regarding development of any request for proposals or request for applications used to solicit contract proposals, and regarding the selection of the independent evaluator.
  (c) The Superintendent shall provide to the Legislature, the Governor, and the state board:
  (1) An interim evaluation report on or before June 1, 2012.
  (2) The final evaluation report on or before June 1, 2014.
  (d) The department shall use federal funds made available from the Race to the Top Fund and detailed in the expenditure plan required pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 53101 for the purpose of contracting for this evaluation.

The Legislature finds and declares that this act is declaratory of the requirements and definitions specified in the federal guidelines for the federal Race to the Top Fund. It is the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent that the federal guidelines are revised, the state plan or plans also be revised accordingly.