I am very pleased to be here with you. For four years, you and I have shared a common cause on behalf of our children. We have labored shoulder-to-shoulder, working to craft, implement, and assess one of the most important changes in American education. And our legacy is the No Child Left Behind Act, which is a liberating and visionary action for our children. It fulfills the promise of our Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Brown v. Board of Education. Because the achievement gap is the civil rights issue of our time, it is as vital to our democracy as are the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Historians and other scholars will look back on the No Child Left Behind Act as a necessary, evolutionary step to secure and sustain the rights of all Americans.

It is a legacy of which you and I can be proud. And I thank you for all of your hard work. Along with the president and the Congress, you and I worked very hard together to make American education more successful, inclusive, and fair. When others wavered or turned away, you remained. When some tried to sabotage or roll back the law, you helped stop them. Yes, this law owes its existence and implementation to organizations like the National Alliance. And I have relied on your support. I am grateful for your vision, commitment, and support. The National Alliance has made a powerful, positive, and permanent difference. Together, we have changed the educational landscape.

As you know, this will be my last speech to you as U.S. secretary of education. And this is my first speech since I submitted my resignation to the president. Here in Texas, my journey has now come full circle. I leave knowing that we—you and I—have given American students a much better educational environment with accountability, with quality teachers in every classroom, with testing to make sure students learn to read and do math, with greater parental involvement, with more choices for students and parents, with the chance for low-income students to transfer out of underperforming schools, with supplemental services for disadvantaged and minority students, and with a guarantee of fairness in treatment and attention.

These are profound, meaningful changes. They take us from a valley of bureaucratic enslavement to the exalted heights of excellence in scholarship. You and I have seen the face of education change, and we can see where it is going. We can see that, within a generation, the achievement gap will be substantially reduced, maybe even eliminated. We see that all children will be treated with regard and respect, not ignored, silenced or left in the shadows. We see that American education will improve for all students, helping them to become more competitive with students from other countries. We see that graduates will have a greater chance for employment, economic stability, and future opportunity. And most of all, we see that each child will have the personal growth, intellectual training, and gift of civilization's treasures that are products of a quality education.

We see all of this, and it will happen if we stay the course. And I know that you will welcome my successor with the same gracious, diligent support you have extended to my staff and to me. And I thank you for that, too.

You and I have been mindful of history and experience as we worked for change. Like me, many of you grew up under segregation. We shared a similar background of poor facilities, hand-me-down and ancient textbooks, squalid and overcrowded buildings, and a life roped in by barriers, signs, stigma, and restrictions. We were separated from other students by a web of lies, by legalized violence, by prejudice inspired by hatred, by legal indifference, by the failed protection of constitutional safeguards, and by a false promise of the American Dream. And I vowed then, as I know many of you also vowed, that if I ever had the chance to change segregated education—to make it equitable, just, tolerant, and respectful for all students—I would move any mountain or bridge any division.

Well, we were challenged for many years—roughly 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education. There was an achievement gap that was wide and deep, evidence of a persistent and emerging educational apartheid in this country, a two-tiered education system that functioned well for most children, but left minority and low-income children behind. We knew these children; they were once you and me: African American, Hispanic, special-needs, English-learning, or economically impoverished. After 50 years, we still heard of students who were treated differently because of their color or ethnicity. We knew that our children could walk through the front doors of our schools, but there was no guarantee that they would receive an education once they sat down at their desks. So millions—and I mean millions—of students were passed on and passed out, socially promoted into a life of few choices and little hope. It was cruel and vain, as some actually believed that social promotion was good. I guess they never asked the child who was left behind, especially when that same child years later stood in line at the unemployment office or was unable to read a book.

But you and I heard them. We had to listen to the children, because they were often our own. I've just spent months crossing the country, talking to parents and students, listening to their perspectives, judging the effects of the law from their points of view. And I've come back with greater confidence that we have made progress.

Let me give you an example. I recently participated in very candid town hall meetings in housing projects in Chicago, Philadelphia, and elsewhere. In these settings, no one pulls any punches. Education is priority one. Parents see education as the road out of poverty and oppression. And they don't want political gamesmanship; they want public education simply to do its job.

And parents and students see that No Child Left Behind is making schools better, more inclusive, and more successful. They want us to continue to make improvements now, right now. They don't want the recent election to be the end of the process of reform. They want the momentum to continue, the transformation to go on. That is why the president is looking at ways to improve high school instruction, to help students start more college-level coursework while still in high school, and to increase offerings for students in mathematics and the sciences.

We already see considerable evidence that the law is working. In the most recent results of the Nation's Report Card, or NAEP, the mathematics scores for fourth- and eighth-graders rose significantly across the board. Of great importance, African American, Hispanic American, and low-income students accounted for some of the most significant improvements. While fourth-grade reading scores between 1992 and 2000 remained stagnant, there has been a 5-point increase in the last three years nationally. The percentage of African American and Hispanic fourth-graders who know their reading and math basics increased substantially more between 2000 and 2003 than in the previous eight years combined.

Further evidence comes from a recent report by the Council of the Great City Schools, which reviewed test scores from 61 urban school districts in 37 states. Students in the largest urban public school systems showed significant improvement in reading and math in the first year under No Child Left Behind.

And in the last few weeks the Department has received data from a number of states indicating further remarkable, rapid improvements. We see an emerging pattern of positive data. The achievement gap is closing. Yes, there is a lot more to do. We are just three years into this process. But as we remain committed to the principles and requirements of the law, we will see greater improvements with each passing year.

I know there has been much discussion about funding levels. For those of you in education, this is no surprise. I think there will always be debate and even disagreement about the right level of funding for education. Historically, on the state and local levels, education has always garnered the most fiscal conversation. As No Child Left Behind required changes, there was much talk about appropriate federal funding for those changes.

And there has been much misunderstanding and misinformation about funding. So some beat the drum for, in their words, "more money," "full funding," and "payment for unfunded mandates."

The law is funded. Period. But money by itself doesn't equal results. In fact, money can be used to disguise problems, or as the wrong barometer of progress. It matters how we spend the money. For example, I am stunned that between 1966 and 2000, the federal government spent $128 billion for Title I education and received little student improvement as a result. I think about that every day. Taxpayers expect us to invest in education, not throw money away. I want to stress that: invest money in our nation's future. Federal education spending is not a giveaway; it must be an investment.

With that in mind, we carefully calibrated the funding needs of the law and provided the necessary resources. We have had enough funding to fully implement the law—as is becoming obvious from the results we're seeing. For example, in the president's 2005 budget, funding for education would be $57.3 billion, an increase of 36 percent since 2001. Several independent studies, including two by the GAO, have concluded that the money is there to get the job done.

And we must look beyond elementary and secondary education. The White House has provided powerful, dynamic, and steadfast support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). I know that you have been very supportive of this development. The president has repeatedly expressed his strong commitment to HBCUs. He was proud to sign the executive order establishing a federal program to strengthen their capacity.

The president has also provided unprecedented fiscal support for HBCUs. In the new 2005 budget, the president set federal spending at $418.8 million for Aid for Institutional Development Programs, an increase of $18.8 million over 2004. This funding is going to institutions with high proportions of minority students, including HBCUs and Historically Black Graduate Institutions. The funding includes $240.5 million for HBCUs and $58.5 million for HBGIs.

Additionally, the Department recently provided an initial $1 million grant to a consortium coordinated by the Special Programs Division of the United Negro College Fund. The grant will be used to strengthen the management and fiscal capabilities of HBCUs. The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and Hampton University are also involved in this program.

You may remember that, four years ago, the president made a promise to increase funding for Institutional Development Programs by 30 percent during his administration. He has done that with the new budget.

The budget also includes more than $832 million for the Federal TRIO Programs and more than $298 million for GEAR-UP to provide educational outreach and support services to help almost two million disadvantaged students enter and complete college.

By any objective measure, we are in better shape because of these efforts. I am hopeful about the future.

And hope matters. There was a time when we had little hope. It was buried under terrible tribulation. Hope was especially hard to muster while we remained, in Lincoln's words, "a house divided."

I believe that No Child Left Behind makes America a house united, because it gives every child a real chance for a quality education. And that is nothing more or less than the American Dream.

In the last four years we have won a great battle together. The victors are our children and the children who will go to school 50 years from now.

Education has the great potential to continue to unite this country, just as it brought us together.

Yes, there are tough battles ahead. There will be days of division, continued attempts at confrontation. But we are steeled by our past struggles. We will not let anyone—anyone—take away the gift of education and the right of equal educational opportunity. Some will try, wearing a concerned look and lecturing us about the trials of teaching to the test or challenging the possibility of all children learning. There are those who are just waiting for the reauthorization of the law next year, planning their strategies and plying their influence to rewrite No Child Left Behind. Some have publicly pledged to stop at nothing.

I know they will not succeed. Because you and I, and millions of parents, as well as the president and the majority of Congress, will not be fooled by their fables. And they do not realize the strength of our coalition, the commitment of our convictions, the power of educational progress, and the enduring values that spirit our cause.

I believe that one important realization has taken hold: this law is about helping our children. That is the measurement of our success; that is the guidance we must follow.

During the last four years, I have heard much about adult problems: federal "intrusion" in education, the need for regulatory exemptions and waivers, not liking the sunshine that comes with accountability, why it's impossible to change even if the educational approaches have been sub par, and so on. The complaints were often about pride, fear, privilege, or power. But now we see that these adult problems must give way. They have to give way for the children. This law put the focus on the children in the system, not the adults.

Our best days are yet to come, because we will stand together to keep our classrooms not only open, but also equitable and inclusive. We will continue to fight for a successful education for every child. And we will complete a revolution in education that is as fundamental and vital as the Constitution itself.

Thank you for your years of friendship and support. God bless you.

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