Brimley, Mich. — Acting Deputy Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok today highlighted the landmark No Child Left Behind Act's education reforms—specifically the provisions that all students deserve to be taught by a highly qualified teacher—during visits to the Brimley Elementary and Brimley Middle School/High School in Brimley.

"I am very interested in listening to faculty members and teachers in a rural area who are interesting in getting the job done when it comes to giving all students the best teachers in the classroom," Hickok said.

The No Child Left Behind Act is the bipartisan education reform law designed to change the culture of America's schools by closing the achievement gap, offering more flexibility to states, giving parents more options and teaching students based on what works. Under the act's strong accountability provisions, states must describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure all students, including those who are disadvantaged, achieve academic proficiency. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002, is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, first enacted in 1965, and provides support for federal education programs, including Title I programs to help economically disadvantaged students.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced three new policies giving teachers greater flexibility in demonstrating that they are highly qualified under No Child Left Behind while also ensuring that every child in America is taught by a teacher who knows his or her subject.

The new policies address the particular challenges of teachers who teach more than one subject, especially those in rural districts and science teachers.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, highly qualified teachers must hold at least a bachelor's degree, have full state certification or licensure, and have demonstrated competence in their subject areas. The law calls for all teachers of core academic subjects to be highly qualified by the end of the 2005-06 school year. It also requires that all newly hired teachers in Title I schools or programs for economically disadvantaged students be highly qualified immediately.

One of the new flexibility provisions recognizes that teachers in small, rural and isolated areas—about one -third of the nation's school districts—are often assigned to teach multiple subjects, face unique challenges in meeting the highly qualified provisions in all subjects they teach, and may need additional time to meet the requirements in all subjects they teach. As long as teachers in eligible districts are highly qualified in at least one subject, they will have three more years to become highly qualified in the additional subjects they teach; newly hired teachers would have until their third year of teaching.

Under President Bush's proposed education budget, federal education funding for Michigan will increase to $3.6 billion—47 percent more than when he took office. The president's budget provides an additional $691 million to help Michigan implement the reforms of No Child Left Behind and increases Title I funding to $431 million—$72.4 million over 2001 levels—to help Michigan's neediest children. The president's budget provides $109.4 million to help the state attract and retain highly qualified teachers in Michigan classrooms and provides $11.5 million for annual assessments so all parents will know how well their children are learning and where they need improvement.

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