Honorable Robert C. Byrd
          United States Senate 
          Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Byrd:

Thank you for your letter regarding the Administration's fiscal year            2002 budget request for education and for the documents you enclosed            on school safety.

President Bush and I strongly agree with you on the importance of investing            in education and making our schools safer. The President's FY 2002 budget            request for the Department of Education includes a budget authority            increase of $4.2 billion or 11.5 percent - the largest increase of any            domestic cabinet-level agency - and a $2.5 billion or almost 6 percent            increase over the 2001 program level. Included within the request is            more than $644 million for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program.

Most increases in our 2002 budget request are focused on implementing            the proposals contained in No Child Left Behind, the President's            framework for changing the culture of our education system and closing            the achievement gap. These proposals include annual testing of all students            in grades 3-8 in reading and math; increased accountability for student            performance; a focus on research-based practices; reduced bureaucracy            and greater flexibility for States, school districts, and schools; and            expanded options for parents to make choices for their children's education.

No Child Left Behind would hold States accountable for school            safety. It would require States, as a condition of receiving Federal            Safe and Drug-Free Schools funds, to: (1) develop a definition for a            "persistently dangerous school" and to report on safety on a school-by-school            basis; (2) provide victims of serious, school-based crimes and students            trapped in persistently dangerous schools the option to transfer to            a safe alternative; and (3) adopt a "zero-tolerance" policy that empowers            teachers to remove violent or persistently disruptive students from            the classroom.

The President's 2002 budget request for No Child Left Behind            also includes significant new resources to improve children's ability            to read, including $900 million for a new Reading First Program to help            States and school districts implement comprehensive reading instruction            grounded in scientifically based research for students in kindergarten            through third grade. The budget also includes $2.6 billion for a new            program of State grants for improving teacher quality and a tripling            of funding for Character Education.

Your letter also mentioned the need for school modernization. Because            school construction is a State and local activity, the Bush Administration            proposals would provide targeted construction and renovation assistance            only to schools for which there is a clear Federal responsibility and            where Federal funding can make a real difference. These proposals include            bringing Bureau of Indian Affairs schools up to code; providing assistance            to local educational agencies that educate large numbers of federally            connected children (and thus depend on Federal Impact Aid funds for            their operations); and leveraging private sector support for charter            school facilities.

These are only a few examples of the Bush Administration's plans for            strengthening elementary and secondary education. No other task is more            urgent or more important. I look forward to working with you to make            the investments and changes needed to provide a first-class education            to all of our children.

Sincerely,

/s/

Rod Paige

|Last Modified: 09/15/2004
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