Florida Wins Race to the Top Education Funds

While not announcing how much each state will receive, the U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday that nine states -- including Florida -- and Washington, D.C., will receive more than $4.3 billion in federal funds in the second round of awarding the Race to the Top grants.

Other states that won were Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island, which join previous winners Tennessee and Delaware from the first round.

"These states show what is possible when adults come together to do the right thing for children," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Every state that applied showed a tremendous amount of leadership and a bold commitment to education reform. The creativity and innovation in each of these applications is breathtaking. We set a high bar and these states met the challenge.