Every weekday I’m sharing the morning’s top education stories. Today: U.S. Congress is trying to cut $500 million from Obama’s federal Race to the Top education initiative to bail out education jobs nationwide, a Columbia professor says core curriculum standards are a good start to improving student achievement and the debate about boys’ performance in school is put in context.

• U.S. Congress and President Obama are scuffling over Race to the Top, which has become one of Obama’s flagship education initiatives. The Washington Post reported today that House Democrats approved a bill that would cut Race to the Top by $500 million — purportedly to help save education jobs nationwide — despite the fact that the White House threatened the veto the bill.

• The new common core curriculum standards are a good first step for raising student achievement, but they are not the destination, Justin Snider of Columbia University wrote in The Des Moines Register today.

• The Harvard Education Letter examines the recurring debate over why boys aren’t doing as well as girls academically.

• A school impact fee in West Hawaii on the Big Island that was supposed to be charged to land developers beginning this month has been postponed, West Hawaii Today reported this morning.

• An attempt to revamp poorly performing schools in Cleveland has been thwarted by an arbitrator’s ruling that 400 teachers shouldn’t have to reapply for their jobs, The Associated Press reported today.

• Oregon is taking a proactive approach to protecting school students from sexual assault, thanks to a new Oregon law, The Associated Press reported today.

Thoughts? Share them in our ongoing education discussion. To read more education news throughout the day, follow me on Twitter: @ktpoy.