SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today approved Puerto Rico's accountability system aligned with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Jack Martin, chief financial officer, made the announcement with Puerto Rico Secretary of Education C??sar A. Rey Hern??ndez at the Capitol Building.

"Puerto Rico's strong accountability plan reflects its commitment to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind while considering its local conditions and unique language and cultural issues," said Secretary Paige. "I applaud Puerto Rico Secretary of Education C??sar Rey and his team for their leadership and for taking the bold steps to do what is necessary to ensure that no child in Puerto Rico is left behind."

"On behalf of Secretary Paige, it's an honor to bring the good news about the approval of Puerto Rico's accountability plan," said Martin at the Capitol Building today.

Under NCLB's strong accountability provisions, states must describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure all students, including disadvantaged students, achieve academic proficiency. In addition, they must produce annual state and school district report cards that inform parents and communities about state and school progress. Schools that do not make progress must provide supplemental services, such as free tutoring or after-school assistance, take corrective actions and, if still not making adequate yearly progress after five years, must make dramatic changes to the way the school is run.

Puerto Rico is the 28th accountability plan to gain approval. Other plans that have been approved include Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

No Child Left Behind is the landmark education reform law designed to change the culture of our schools by closing the achievement gap, offering more flexibility, giving parents more options and teaching students based on what works.

Foremost among the four key principles is an insistence on stronger accountability for results. To achieve that, states must develop strong accountability systems or improve those already in place, establish high standards and hold all children to the same standards. They also must provide instruction by highly qualified teachers, which results in steady progress. All students must be proficient by the 2013-14 school year.

All states submitted draft accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education by the Jan. 31 deadline. Following an initial review and technical assistance, if needed, the next step was onsite peer review of each state's proposed accountability plan. Teams of three peer reviewers -- independent, nonfederal education policy, reform or statistical experts -- conducted each peer review. Following a review of the team's consensus report, the department provided feedback to the state and worked to resolve any outstanding issues. Ultimately, Paige approved the state plan, as he did for Puerto Rico.

To date, all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have had peer reviews of their accountability plans. Additionally, the senior staff of the Department of Education has met with education officials from the states to discuss the specifics of their plans and the unique challenges and issues in each state.

Despite all the priorities competing for our tax dollars, President Bush's budget boosts federal education funding to $53.1 billion -- an $11 billion increase since the president took office. Puerto Rico alone will receive more than $1.4 billion, including more than $604 million to implement NCLB. If the president's budget is approved, federal education funding for Puerto Rico will have gone up $243 million since he took office.

Puerto Rico's plan will be posted online in the coming days at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/CFP/csas/index.html.

For more information about the No Child Left Behind Act, go to www.nochildleftbehind.gov.

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