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U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today approved Oklahoma's, Oregon's and Puerto Rico's accountability plans as the 26th, 27th and 28th respectively, aligned with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Senior Department officials made the announcements during visits to Oklahoma City, Salem and San Juan.

"These accountability plans are blueprints to ensure that children in Oklahoma, Oregon and Puerto Rico have equal access to a high-quality education," said Secretary Paige. "Completing these plans was tough work, and I applaud the leaders of these states and Puerto Rico for taking the bold steps to leave no child behind."

On behalf of Secretary Paige, Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs Laurie M. Rich delivered the good news about Oklahoma's accountability plan, the 26th to be approved; General Counsel Brian Jones announced Oregon as the 27th plan to be approved; and Chief Financial Officer Jack Martin announced Puerto Rico as the 28th accountability plan to be approved.

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.

Other states whose plans 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, 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 plans.

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 he took office, including: $12.4 billion for Title I funding; $9.5 billion for special education; $1.1 billion for Reading First and Early Reading First programs; $4.5 billion to support teachers; and $390 million to help states improve accountability.

All plans 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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