New York's second-round Race to the Top bid hits the web

Less than an hour after the state’s second-round Race to the Top application was due in Washington, state officials have posted its new plan to the public.

Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said today that the newest version of the application is “round one plus the legislation.” She was referring to the two major pieces of legislation Albany passed in recent weeks designed to boost the state’s application: a new teacher evaluation system that includes measures of student achievement and Friday’s move to raise the state’s cap on charter schools.

Tisch added that the state education department also boosted the application’s section on its data systems, an area where the state lost points in the first round.

“Everything is good,” Tisch said. “And here we move on.”

But there are likely to be some changes in the 450-page application released today that go beyond the addition of a new teacher evaluation system and the possibility of 260 more charter schools. State officials have already said they intended to scrutinize the budget’s every line to weed out expenses such as the now-infamous executive chairs that helped doom the first application. And there are likely to be other substantive changes as well.

We’ll have a run-down of the highlights of this round’s application later; in the meantime, help us find the most interesting parts by posting in the comments below. You can read more about the Race to the Top competition here, and read New York’s first-round application here. And the full second-round application is below the jump: