"By now, I expect you've heard the good news," wrote U.S. secretary of education, Arne Duncan, in a recent email to "Education Stakeholders" all over the country. "In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)."

The letter goes on to emphasize the administration's commitment to cradle-to-career education for all of America's children, including a proposed $9.3 billion over 10 years for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, providing competitive grants to states for early learning experiences from birth through kindergarten entry, and increased student aid and improvements in student loans for higher education.

In K-12 education, Duncan announced, the president will propose a $4 billion increase, including the previously announced $1.35 billion request to make Race to the Top a permanent program. Of that increase, $1 billion would be made available through a budget amendment when Congress completes an ESEA reauthorization consistent with the President's plan. The plan is to set up a bipartisan group of legislators to "develop an accountability system built on greater transparency, incentives and rewards, and a focus on turning around persistently underperforming schools."

Read the entire letter.