Jindal Asked To Seek $45M In Education Funding

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is being urged to apply for $45 million in federal grant money that could be available to Louisianafor early childhood education programs.

But with the Oct. 16 deadline fast approaching, it's unclear if the state will turn in a request or pass up a chance to get the funding.

Jindal's office says the governor is leaving the decision to the Department of Education. And education department spokeswoman Anna Gatlin said Tuesday that Superintendent of Education John White hadn't yet decided whether to apply.

John Warner Smith is chief executive officer of Education's Next Horizon, one of several groups asking state officials to file an application. Smith says the funding would help the education department with its ongoing efforts to strengthen early childhood education.