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Thank you, Jim (Horne), for that introduction and for your leadership as Secretary of Education here in Florida.

I thank Governor Bush for that warm video welcome and for all the help that he and his office have provided for this conference.

Florida is fortunate in its choice of Governor. He is doing great things--and one of his finest accomplishments is the "One Florida" initiative that is providing greater opportunities for young people--from all walks of life--to achieve their dreams of college and career.

I also want to thank those at the Department of Education who have worked so hard to make this conference possible--all the good folks from our Office for Civil Rights--headed by our very capable Assistant Secretary Jerry Reynolds.

And I thank all of you for coming. It says a lot that you're here. The world is not like it was 20 years ago or 10 years ago or even two years ago. We in the education community--from preschool to post-graduate--face new challenges that demand new ways of thinking.

That means those of us who are leaders in the education community must have the courage to embrace fresh new ideas and innovative new approaches to make a good education system better and more accessible to all--not just some.

That's what this conference is all about. Over the next two days you are going to hear from some of our brightest lights in education. You're going to hear from some of the great people at the Department of Education, including two top-notch minds--Jerry Reynolds and General Counsel Brian Jones.

First, however, you're going to hear from me. My job is to provide the overview and then get out of the way. So as we begin, I want to throw out some thoughts.

There's been a lot of national attention on the Michigan case before the Supreme Court. Opinions are strong on both sides of the issue.

And I'll just tell you that President Bush and I are of one mind on this. I have known President Bush a long time and I can tell you that this is a man who believes that education is a civil right, just like the right to vote or to be treated equally. He believes it's the duty of our nation to educate every child well, not just some of them.

Both he and I are committed to greater diversity and greater opportunity for all Americans from all backgrounds and all walks of life. But we believe that we can--and we must--achieve these goals without resorting to methods that divide, that perpetuate stereotypes, and that pit one group of Americans against another.

Think about it: If our goal is harmony and diversity, then why would we use methods that are divisive, unfair and impossible to square with our Constitution? The Michigan system unfairly rewards or penalizes perspective students based solely on their race.

This is not only wrong; it's un-American. It is not right to fight discrimination with discrimination. And that is what the Michigan system promotes.

Business Week recently pointed out another fundamental flaw of race-based affirmative action. In the April 14th issue, it reported that race-based admissions policies have created "economic segregation" between minorities--pitting minority kids against minority kids. And the major losers in the contest are--once again--the low-income minority kids.

Business Week reported that, according to a study by The Century Foundation, those who benefited most were from middle class and well off families that could afford to send their children to college anyway.

The article concluded--and I quote: "Not only are students from low-income families largely shut out of elite colleges but they are also much less likely to attend college at all, compared with their counterparts from wealthier families."

Tomorrow, you will hear more about this issue from Richard Kahlenberg of The Century Foundation.

If we are truly committed to greater opportunity and diversity on our nation's campuses, then we have the responsibility and the obligation to be proactive. And in this effort, we have a great ally in President Bush.

At his insistence, the Department of Education took a hard look at the potential for race-neutral admissions approaches to increase the number of minorities on America's college campuses. We issued a report last month. And Jerry Reynolds will talk about this in greater detail.

But the upshot is this: colleges don't have to fall back on admissions quotas and double standards to achieve racial diversity. Promising alternatives not only exist, they are working.

Places like California and Texas and Florida are proving that you can achieve broad racial and economic diversity through such race-neutral means as:

• Guaranteeing admissions to top students from all high schools--wealthy and poor; and
• Considering a broad range of factors in admissions, including a student's potential, life experiences and economic obstacles.

The early data is heartening. It suggests that many university doors have now opened to rural and low-income students who never before had a prayer of attending those schools. Where once students from a small number of high schools held the monopoly on elite colleges, students from low-income and low-performing schools are now winning admission.

Some of those folks who are making this happen are here and I'll let them tell you about their experiences.

No President in the history of our country has believed so passionately in the potential and the bright promise of every young person. And while he works to expand opportunities in the admissions process, he is also mindful that the best affirmative action program of all is an excellent education in grades K through 12.

One of the greatest injustices in our great country has been an education system that, for too long, taught only some students well while the rest--mostly minority and mostly low-income--floundered or flunked out.

By the time President Bush took office, the situation was truly sobering:

• Two out of three fourth graders couldn't read proficiently;
• Seven out of ten inner-city and rural fourth graders couldn't read at the most basic level;
• And America's twelfth graders ranked among the lowest in math and science achievement among their counterparts around the world.

His first day on the job, President Bush called together a panel of educators and began the task of fundamentally changing the way we educate our children in America--from a system that does a good job educating some children, to a system that does a good job educating all children, from all walks of life.

The result was the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001--a remarkable consensus by both parties in both houses of Congress that the time had come to make every school in America a place of high expectations and high standards.

Others before tinkered around the edges. But President Bush has insisted on reform from the bottom up, where it can do the most good. And he has made sure that education got historic levels of funding--targeted to areas of greatest need--to get the job done.

President Bush has made it our national priority to teach every child by third grade the one skill upon which all others depend: reading. He has initiated a State Scholars program to challenge the minds of more young people with rigorous advanced placement courses.

And he has encouraged partnerships between colleges and public schools in their communities to help raise the bar and boost student achievement. You're going to hear from some folks at this conference on this score as well.

They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and nowhere is that more true than here. By raising the bar for achievement in our nation's schools, we raise the quality of high school graduates. And that increases the number of students capable of winning admission to the college of their choice, based on their talent and potential.

All kids want what every one of us wants: to be accepted on our own merits... to be recognized as individuals with potential and heart... to get a fair shot at the American dream.

That's what the President wants as well. And the Department of Education is committed to helping him achieve that noble goal. Not through artificial racial preferences that pit one American against another, but through equal access--starting with a quality education that begins the moment each child sets foot in kindergarten.

Now it's up to us to stay focused on the task. And to do whatever it takes to help every child and young person succeed.

And we want to hear from you. You are on the front lines every day. You know what works and what doesn't. So over the next two days, we are not only going to talk, we're going to listen to you. We know we don't have a monopoly on good ideas. So speak up and let us share your innovative approaches with the rest of the education community as well.

Again--I'm glad you're here. I think this is going to be a very productive conference. And I'll take any questions you might have now.

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