This letter to the editor by Secretary Rod Paige appeared in The Tampa Tribune on
February 27, 2004.

I would like to correct a few items in your editorial "President's School Policies Are Not Conservative" (Feb. 16).

Florida should be applauded for its embrace of a strong accountability program. It is that same philosophy that led Congress and the president to set the same increased student achievement goals for the federal dollars that are provided.

"No Child Left Behind" is intentionally designed to give states flexibility, and in fact it is the states that set the achievement levels and define which schools make the grade. In other words, the Florida Department of Education created its own standards for Florida's children. Under "No Child Left Behind," children who attend schools that need help will get it -- the schools will be given extra resources. Parents will be given options -- transferring their children to another school or, if they qualify, getting free after-school tutoring for their child.

President Bush's 2005 budget gives Florida an additional $1 billion to help implement the reforms of "No Child Left Behind" on the K-12 level. Overall, federal education funding in Florida would increase to $5.5 billion -- a total 51 percent increase since he took office. Education and "No Child Left Behind" specifically are more than adequately funded. This point was recently made in two reports: one published by Harvard and Stanford in their journal Education Next and the other by Accountability Works, a nonprofit education group.

The federal role in education is nothing new -- it goes back to 1965. It is meant to supplement, not supplant, the state role, and that is exactly what "No Child Left Behind" does. The difference is that now we are asking that schools be accountable for the billions of taxpayer dollars sent to them, which is no different from what Florida expects out of its investment in Florida schools. All it asks is that all children read and do math at grade level. "No Child Left Behind" is a promise that every child will get a good education -- one that is accountable, inclusive and rigorous. Given that as a nation we spend more than a half-trillion dollars a year at the local, state and federal level on elementary and secondary education, that is not too much to ask.

Rod Paige
Secretary of Education

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