NEW YORK, NY November 12, 2009 —Federal guidelines released today seem to put New York at a disadvantage in a competition for additional education dollars. The so-called Race to the Top fund will award $4-billion in grants to a few states that embark on specific reforms, like increasing the number of high-performing charter schools. But a New York law limits the number of charters to 200.

Peter Murphy, policy director of the New York Charter Schools Association, thinks that limit will hurt the state's chances.

MURPHY: If the feds keep it to 10-12 states in total, I think New York is going to have a problem getting any significant amount of money if it stands still and does nothing about improving its charter school law.

REPORTER: New York's chances are also considered less favorable because of a law preventing student achievement from being linked to any decisions on teacher tenure. And the funding application is heavily weighted toward proposals for improving teacher effectiveness.