U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today issued the following statement in response to Chairman George Miller's address at the National Press Club, outlining his priorities for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act.

"I want to thank Chairman Miller for his commitment to strengthening and improving the law that holds us accountable for the education of every child, regardless of race, income or zip code. His leadership and bipartisanship will be essential to making the improvements and modifications we know No Child Left Behind needs so that we can continue to build on the tremendous success the law has had in raising student performance and closing the achievement gap.

"Chairman Miller shares my belief that every child is capable of succeeding in school. In order to achieve that goal, we must not roll back the clock on accountability for our schools or the progress our poor, minority and special education students have made since we created No Child Left Behind. Weakening our schools' accountability for the success of all students would be a disservice to American children and families and our future global competitiveness.

"While we all hope to see action on reauthorization soon, a comprehensive bill that has bipartisan support and holds firm to the goal of every child reading and doing math on grade level by 2014 is worth the wait. I look forward to seeing legislation this fall that continues to hold America accountable for providing every child with a quality education, something students deserve and parents expect."

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