Dear Chief State School Officer:

Last month I had the distinct pleasure of hosting many chief state            school officers at President George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate,            to begin a new partnership for reforming elementary and secondary education            so that no child in this Nation is left behind. I was gratified by the            strong sense of commitment that was evident among all the Chief State            School Officers who attended, both to this mission and to the effective            implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which President            Bush signed into law on January 8. As Secretary of Education and as            a former superintendent of a large urban school district, I know that            the educational and administrative challenges may seem daunting. But            I have seen it work. I know that this is a special opportunity for all            of us to make an extraordinary contribution to the effective education            of all of our children. That is what we all want. I have no doubt that            this law gives us a roadmap to get there.

We need to get there by working together in partnership. Each of us            - at the federal, state, local, and school levels - needs to do his            or her assigned role well if we are to succeed. We at the Department            are prepared to do our part - listening to your concerns and viewpoints;            providing timely guidelines and regulations that are needed for you            to perform your functions; answering your questions and providing any            technical assistance that you need; and ensuring through close monitoring            and, if necessary, enforcement that the law is being faithfully carried            out by State agencies. As I said at Mt. Vernon, we will approach this            challenge as a cooperative partnership that rests on close collaboration            and frequent sharing of information.

In that spirit, I am sending this letter to highlight especially important            provisions in the law that will soon take effect. These provisions relate            to standards, assessments, and systems to measure the progress of States,            school districts, and schools in educating all children to be proficient            in math, reading/language arts, and science. They also relate to accountability            when a school or district is failing to raise the achievement of its            students and the rights of parents to redress that failure for their            own children. These provisions are the heart of a national strategy            to turn failing schools around and end a pernicious achievement gap            among our children. Every State needs to give very early attention to            these provisions.

The law says that we can no longer wait for States to develop high            standards and a system for measuring and monitoring adequate yearly            progress in meeting the standards, as required in the 1994 legislation.            It provides that 90 days after the new law is enacted, the Secretary            of Education shall not grant any additional waivers or enter into any            additional agreements to extend the deadlines that were established            in 1994. Those deadlines have already passed. The law also directs the            Department to withhold 25 percent of State administrative funds under            Title I for failure to comply with these requirements. Consistent with            the spirit of these provisions and with the principle that requirements            should not be waived if doing so would undermine the intent and purpose            of the law, we do not intend to waive fundamental requirements on standards,            assessments, adequate yearly progress, and accountability in the new            law.

I am pleased that Congress has also strengthened the existing standards            and assessment requirements. It has added important requirements for            States to develop standards and assessments in science and to develop            assessments in reading/language arts and math in the third through eighth            grades. Although these requirements do not take effect immediately,            it is vital that your agency begin considering how it will meet them.            Congress appropriated $387,000,000 to assist states in implementing            these requirements that we will award in July. There are two related            assessment requirements that do take effect next school year. First,            your agency must demonstrate in its State plan that its local districts            will annually assess the English proficiency of limited-English-proficient            students. Additionally, each State will begin to participate in the            biennial State academic assessments of 4th and 8th grade reading and            math under the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). We            will pay the costs of administering NAEP.

Based on the standards and assessments you currently have in place,            your agency must begin implementing new requirements for holding schools            and districts accountable for the achievement of all students.            Specifically, your State plan must demonstrate that your State has developed            and will be implementing beginning in the 2002-03 school year a Statewide            accountability system consistent with the Act, including the State's            definition of adequate yearly progress for all public schools, local            school districts, and the State itself to meet the State's student achievement            standards. Using data for the 2001-02 school year, the State must also            establish the starting point for measuring the percentage of students            meeting or exceeding the State's proficient level of academic achievement            and a timeline for adequate yearly progress.

The Act includes significant accountability provisions, many of which            begin to apply in the 2002-03 school year. These include provisions            for parents of students in failing schools to transfer their children            to a better school in the district, including a public charter school,            and for low-income parents of students in these schools to obtain supplemental            educational services from public or private-sector providers selected            by the parents. The law requires school districts to spend up to 20            percent of their Title I allocations to carry out these school choice            and supplemental educational services provisions. For parents who opt            to transfer their children to                  another school, the local school district must provide transportation            to the new school. In order to ensure districts can implement the requirement            to pay for supplemental services, your agency must adopt criteria for            selecting and approving acceptable providers of these services and publish            a list, by school district, of approved providers.

These provisions are designed to give failing schools a significant            incentive to improve and to ensure that no child loses the opportunity            for a quality education because he or she is trapped in a failing school.            We expect to issue guidance on the implementation of these provisions            in a short time. These are new obligations on the States and local school            districts, and leadership and close oversight by the State are needed            to ensure that school districts correctly implement the law.

Under the law, local school districts must identify for "school            improvement" any elementary or secondary school served under Title            I that fails to make adequate yearly progress in the achievement of            their students for two consecutive years. Those schools must be identified            in annual school district and State report cards to the public. The            report cards must also address student achievement and other indicators.

To ensure that there is fiscal accountability and students receive            the full benefits of the Federal grants, there are a number of new supplement,            not supplant provisions that will be taking effect in various programs            under the new statute. We will be issuing guidance on how to comply            with those requirements, and I am hopeful that with a greater awareness            of these provisions from the beginning of your implementation of the            Act, you will be able to avoid problems.

A list of some key, early deadline dates for implementation follows            ("SY" = School Year):

|State notifies ED if it plans to apply for State-Flex                authority | May 8, 2002            
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -----------------------
|Initial Consolidated State Plan Submitted to ED                                | May 15, 2002           
|Annual assessment of English proficiency of LEP students                       | SY 2002-03             
|Biennial NAEP State assessment                                                 | SY 2002-03             
|Public school choice for eligible students                                     | SY 2002-03             
|State identifies providers of supplemental                educational services | Beginning of SY 2002-03
|Supplemental educational services for eligible students                        | SY 2002-03             
|State disseminates annual State report card                                    | Beginning of SY 2002-03
|Local school districts disseminate annual local report                card     | Beginning of SY 2002-03
|Annual State Title I report to ED                                              | SY 2002-03             

I look forward to working in partnership with you to address these            challenges. While I know that the largest responsibilities fall on you            and on educators at the local level and in schools, we at the Department            are prepared to roll up our sleeves and do everything we can to carry            out the purposes and the letter of the law. As President Bush has stressed,            the stakes for our children and for the long-term strength of our Nation            are too great to do otherwise.

Sincerely,

/s/

Rod Paige

|Last Modified: 09/15/2004
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