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President Bush today joined Secretary of Education Rod Paige today on the No Child Left Behind Tour Across America in Wisconsin, where they focused on the accountability and teacher quality elements of the No Child Left Behind Act and highlighted the provisions of the law that empower children in underperforming schools to select another public school beginning next year.

They visited with parents, teachers, students and local leaders at three schools: the Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School and the Clarke Street Elementary School, both in Milwaukee, and the Logan High School in LaCrosse.

The president noted that in Wisconsin alone, there are 116 schools that have failed to meet state education standards for two years in a row. The 70,000 students who attend these schools will now have the option to transfer to a better public school beginning this fall as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act.

States determine which schools are in need of improvement based on state-developed standards and criteria. Based on preliminary data provided to the U.S. Department of Education by the states, students are enrolled in more than 7,200 failing schools across the country. State-level information is available from each state agency.

"Wisconsin understands the power of unleashing parental choice," Secretary Paige said. "Now, thanks to No Child Left Behind, parents of children in underperforming schools all across this nation are empowered to do the same.

"These reforms say loud and clear to parents: If your child’s school is failing its mission, then you’ve got a choice. You can enroll your child in a better school, get one-on-one tutoring, or after-school help."

Paige said that he will be offering preliminary guidance to states on public school choice and supplemental services--two key requirements of the new law that states and school districts will begin implementing this fall. New rules and guidance should be available by mid-summer, 2002.

In addition, Paige announced that he will be hosting a public school choice and supplemental services conference at the Department of Education in early June for education leaders, service providers, and community groups--to equip them with information about the choice and supplemental services provisions of the new law.

"We are going to work as partners with the states and school districts at every step of the implementation process," Paige said. "We understand that providing choice and supplemental services -- including tutoring and after-school help--may present a management challenge for school districts. But these are the children who need it most. They have waited long enough. We can’t get hung up on process."

Paige said there are two reasons for the choice provisions: first, to help free children trapped in underperforming schools to get the help they need to learn and excel and second, to send a message loud and clear that if schools are failing their mission, then parents have other options."

Throughout this week, President Bush and Secretary Paige have discussed the following key provisions of this landmark law:

Strengthening Accountability--Under the No Child Left Behind Act, states will be responsible for setting strong academic standards for what every child should know and learn in reading, math and science at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Improving Teacher Quality--The No Child Left Behind Act requires that there must be a highly qualified teacher in every classroom by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

Increasing Parental Involvement--Because of the No Child Left Behind Act, every parent in America will have access to information on how well their child’s school is performing. The No Child Left Behind Act gives low-income parents with children in persistently underperforming schools the ability to transfer their child to a better public school or use federal Title I dollars for supplemental services to improve their child’s education.

Strengthening Reading Programs--The No Child Left Behind Act fully implements the president’s Reading First initiative. Local recipients will administer screening and diagnostic assessments to determine which students in grades K-3 are at risk of reading failure and provide professional development for K-3 teachers in the essential components of reading instruction.

Secretary Paige kicked off his nationwide tour on April 8, 2002. In addition to today’s stops, Secretary Paige has visited Albuquerque, N.M.; Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Southfield, Mich. Other stops will be announced later.

As part of this public awareness effort, the Department of Education has prepared specific information available through a Web site--www.NoChildLeftBehind.gov--and guidebooks to help parents, teachers, principals, local and state officials and community leaders understand what the law means to them.

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