Florida was not among a group of nine states to receive Race to the Top funds for early learning program, the White House announced Friday.
In October, Florida officials submitted a $100 million grant application to bolster its voluntary pre-kindergarten programs. The state spent $385 million on voluntary pre-kindergarten this fiscal year for over 165,000 students, which was a reduction from the year before.
California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington state were award grants totaling $500 million.
Earlier this year, 35 states applied for the federal grants.
