Department of Education General Counsel Brian W. Jones has announced his resignation from the Bush administration, following more than three years' service as the top legal adviser and a key policy adviser to Secretary Paige on all education issues, including the implementation of the No Child Left Behind education reforms.

In a letter to President Bush, Jones wrote: "Because of your vision and Secretary Paige's clear voice and steady hand, the education establishment in this country has been inalterably changed for the good. Accountability, sound research and parental options are today no longer empty slogans, but rather watchwords of genuine reform.

"Most gratifying of all is that your reforms have reoriented the focus of public education. No longer does the circumstance of a child's birth and social environment determine his or her educational destiny. You have sought to eliminate the achievement gap root and branch and have given the nation's parents and educators the tools they need to get the job done."

Secretary Paige praised Jones for his leadership and steady guidance the past three years.

"Brian Jones has been an integral part of our team, working hard to keep the president's charge that each and every child in our great nation receive a quality education," Secretary Paige said. "His leadership, counsel and guidance have been crucial during this historic era at the Department of Education and for our nation's schools and their students."

Regarding Secretary Paige, Jones said: "I have the greatest admiration and respect for the secretary. His passion for quality education, commitment to personal integrity and leadership by example have taught me so much. I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to have served President Bush and the children of our great country under his leadership."

President Bush nominated Jones to be the Department's general counsel on April 30, 2001. The United States Senate confirmed Jones on Sept. 14, 2001.

Prior to his appointment as general counsel, Jones was an attorney in private practice with the San Francisco law firm of Curiale Dellaverson Hirschfeld Kelly & Kraemer, LLP, where he handled employment litigation services and employment and education law counseling and training to public and private employers. Prior to this, he served as deputy legal affairs secretary to California Gov. Pete Wilson and as counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. Jones also is a past president of the Center for New Black Leadership, a national public-policy think tank.

Jones earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a major in finance from Georgetown University and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

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