Rhode Island has an opportunity to provide high-quality education options to children and their families through two new charter schools that the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education has recently approved. We also have the opportunity to compete for more than $100 million in competitive funding from the U.S. Department of Education through the new $4.3-billion "Race to the Top" initiative. These opportunities are now in jeopardy.

Our state, like many across the country, is dealing with a dire fiscal crisis that an infusion of federal funding for education has mitigated. Rhode Island is set to receive nearly $200 million in new education funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A portion of these funds helped to balance our state's budget and keep teachers in Rhode Island classrooms. The Obama administration has called upon states to use these funds wisely and to use them to advance education reforms and dramatically improve student achievement.

In addition, the federal government has $4.3 billion to distribute to states through the competitive Race to the Top-with successful states potentially receiving a minimum of $100 million each. To be competitive for one of these grants, Rhode Island must embrace innovation and change in our education-reform strategy-including charter schools. Just last week, the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, said, "States that… put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the Race to the Top Fund."

Fortunately, after having no new charter schools for five years, the General Assembly recently lifted a moratorium on the opening of new charter schools. The Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education responded by approving two new and very promising schools, and families have acted quickly to take advantage of a quality option for their children. The two schools, the Segue Institute, which will serve middle-school students in Central Falls, and the Democracy Prep-Blackstone Valley, the first Rhode Island Mayoral Academy, already have more applications than they have seats available.

Unfortunately, these two new schools, and in fact the entire school-reform agenda in Rhode Island, are now threatened. The budget before the General Assembly has eliminated the proposed $1.5 million in funding for these schools. Without this money, Democracy Prep and Segue will remain on the drawing boards, which will deprive many students and their families of their right to a high-quality public-school education.

With support from the Governor and the General Assembly, Rhode Island should be an excellent candidate for Race to the Top funding, thanks to our record of innovation and reform. We are national leaders through our multistate standards and assessment initiative and our new Diploma System with its proficiency-based graduation requirements. Yet, we know we have far to go before we are providing the quality of education our students deserve. A new reform agenda including new charter schools can support that continued improvement, and a new federal grant would mean a tremendous influx of support for schools throughout the state.

Speaking on the topic of American education before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce earlier this year, President Obama said, "I call on states to reform their charter rules and lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools, wherever such caps are in place."
We cannot afford to lose the opportunity to receive this infusion of federal funds for school improvement. Opening two new charter schools provides a new quality option for Rhode Island families immediately while also sending a strong signal that Rhode Island is serious about school reform. It would be a modest investment that could pay enormous dividends.

The Board of Regents calls on the General Assembly to do everything possible to ensure that Rhode Island remains competitive in our application for Race to the Top federal grants. We must open these new charter schools. It's in the best interest of the students in Central Falls and the Blackstone Valley area and in the best interest of our state.

-From the Rhode Island Department of Education