The nation’s most populous state won’t get a fig from the federal government for its troubled public schools, after the state once again failed to qualify for competitive Race to the Top grants. As Damien Bulwa reports in the San Francisco Chronicle, California came in 16th among 19 states competing for a second round of funding. Only the top nine entities -- eight states and the District of Columbia will receive money.

Emergency federal aid meant to save thousands of teachers' jobs in California could vanish into the gaping maw of the state's $19 billion budget deficit, Shane Goldmacher of the Los Angeles Times reports.  A battle between federal and state elected officials is apparently heating up, with Democratic state legislators floating the concept of essentially re-purposing the money for other uses.

The stock of Illinois for-profit colleges is falling after a Dept. of Education proposal to cut off these institutions' federal aid. The Associated Press reports that the stock of DeVry Institute (based in Downers Grove, Illinois) slipped nine percent on Monday and the stock of Career Education Corp (headquartered in Hoffman Estates) dropped six percent. The falling stock is linked to a just-announced Dept. of Education plan that for-profit colleges should not get federal aid if fewer than 35 percent of former students are paying back their loans. The plan also stipulates that graduates from for-profits should not spend more than 12 percent of their income to pay off student debt. The Education Dept. aims to implement these rules by next summer.

The Chicago Public Schools will use federal education aid to return class sizes to their normal level, reports the Chicago Sun-Times' Rosaland Rossi.

[caption id="attachment_10079" align="alignleft" width="115" caption="Arne Duncan"][/caption] Here’s where the local and state government budget crisis impacts the Obama administration agenda. The education budget crisis in Chicago has hindered the city’s development of its charter schools, reports Sarah Karp at the Chicago News Cooperative. Due to shrinking local tax revenue and a $12 billion state budget deficit, the Chicago Public Schools have made $15 million in cuts for their charter schools. Currently, 40,000 students attend these schools, which are mainly funded by public dollars. The cuts mean that charters will have to rely more on private donors. Already, turnover is high at charters as teachers typically work longer and for less pay than their public school counterparts. Many of these charter schools were opened by now Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Illinois needs all the outside money it can get for education -- several individual school districts, including the Chicago Public Schools, face unprecedented deficits. However, the state looks unprepared to spend money in the state aid package the U.S. House of Representatives passed Tuesday.

The House interrupted its August recess yesterday to pass a bill that provides $26 billion in aid to state governments that are trying to balance their budgets. About $16 billion of this money goes to helping states make Medicaid payments and $10 million goes to education, namely preventing further layoffs of teachers. Illinois will get

[caption id="attachment_9922" align="alignleft" width="115" caption="Pat Quinn"][/caption] In a major breakthrough yesterday, the Senate overcame a filibuster on a bill to provide $26.1 billion in Medicaid and education assistance to state governments.  The House is now expected to return from its August recess to pass the legislation, and President Obama should sign the bill before the 2010-11 school year begins -- averting some teacher layoffs. The money will help Illinois,

Via Progress Illinois, The Hill's Julian Pecquet reports that Senate leader Harry Reid is expected to table a bill that extends increased Medicaid payments to states for six months.  These Medicaid payments were a critical part of the stimulus bill and their extension could make the Illinois budget crisis less dire.

Federal diligence is stalling important renewable energy projects in California, and state officials say the delays may jeopardize construction of several next-generation green power plants, Marc Lifsher of the Los Angeles Times reports. Construction of a dozen wind farms, solar panel complexes and seven different plants that would use a massive array of mirrors to capture