U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced that Rebecca O. Campoverde has been formally sworn in as assistant secretary of education for legislation and congressional affairs.

Campoverde previously served as deputy chief of staff for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where she was part of the team that drafted H.R. 1 - the House version of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Plan for comprehensive education reform.

Campoverde returns to the Department of Education, where she held several positions during the 1980s and 1990s, including deputy chief of staff to the secretary of education, chief of staff to the deputy secretary of education, and deputy assistant secretary for legislation.

A former teacher and reporter, Campoverde also worked for the Dallas Independent School District. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

The president formally nominated Campoverde on June 5. The Senate confirmed the nomination on July 12.

"I am pleased to welcome Becky Campoverde back to the department," Paige said. "Becky has experience on Capitol Hill and within this department that will be vitally important as we pursue our agenda for America's students. She will a valuable member of our leadership team and of an administration that has made education its number one priority."