A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Contact:
Julie Green
(202) 401-3026

STATEMENT BY U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION RICHARD W. RILEY
On the Introduction of the Academic Achievement for All Act

The Republicans' "Straight A's" proposal simply doesn't make the grade and should more appropriately be called the Anti-Accountability Act. This bill provides no commitment to raising standards or improving student achievement and destroys targeting resources to the children who need them most. At a time when we need to strengthen accountability, improve teacher quality, fix failing schools and end social promotion, this approach moves in the opposite direction. In their zeal for quick fixes and silver bullet solutions, Republicans are proposing another experiment in revenue sharing. This bill fails to ensure that federal resources are spent effectively on practices that work. It could in fact serve as a gateway to private school vouchers by enabling states with those kinds of programs to use public dollars to support them.

Instead, we must ensure that federal tax dollars are well-spent on critical nationwide needs like recruiting and training teachers, reducing class sizes, providing safe schools and giving disadvantaged students extra help in the basics. That's why the Clinton Administration's meaningful, comprehensive plan to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is the right approach and will make a real difference for our schools and students.

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