    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [January 4, 2003]
    [Pages 24-25]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 4, 2003

        Good morning. One year ago this month, our country set a bold new
    course in public education. With the No Child Left Behind Act, America
    began a promising era in our public schools, an era of local control,
    high standards, and accountability that will produce better results for
    America's students.
        Under the new law, key choices about education spending will be made
    at the local level by parents and teachers and principals who know the
    children best. Government cannot and must not try to run the Nation's
    schools from Washington, DC.
        Yet, the Federal Government has an important role. We are providing
    far more money than ever before to help States and local school
    districts, more than $22 billion in this school year alone. Over the
    last 2 years, we have increased Federal spending by 40 percent, and in
    return, we are insisting that schools use that money wisely. States must
    set new and higher goals for every student, to ensure that students are
    learning the basics of reading and math. The law also requires that
    schools regularly test students, share the results with parents, and
    show how the results in each school compare with others.
        My budget provides more than enough money for States to test every
    student, every year, in grades three-through-eight. Testing is the only
    way to know which students are learning and which students need extra
    help so we can give them help before they fall further behind.
        For parents with children in persistently failing schools, the law
    provides hopeful options. Those parents can choose to send their
    children to better public schools or receive funding to pay for after-
    school tutoring or other academic help. No parent will have to settle
    year after year for schools that do not teach and will not change.
    Instead of getting excuses, parents will now get choices.
        Across America, States and school districts are working hard to
    implement these reforms. They are developing accountability plans and
    beginning innovative tutoring programs. The path to real reform and
    better results is not easy, but it is essential.
        The priorities of last year's reforms will also be reflected in the
    budget I will submit to Congress this year. Too many students in lower
    income families fall behind early, resulting in a terrible gap in test
    scores between these students and their more fortunate peers. To help
    close this achievement gap, I will ask Congress to approve an additional
    $1 billion, a total of 12.3 billion, for the Title I program in the 2004
    budget. This would be the highest funding level ever for Title I, which
    serves our neediest students.
        Our reforms will not be complete until every child in America has an
    equal chance

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    to succeed in school and rise in the world. For every child, education
    begins with strong reading skills. With the Reading First program, we
    have set a national goal to make sure that every child in America is
    reading by the third grade. To move toward that goal, I will request
    more than $1.1 billion for Federal reading programs in next year's
    budget, an increase of $75 million over last year's budget request. This
    investment will go only to support programs with proven results in
    teaching children to read.
        The No Child Left Behind Act was a victory of bipartisan
    cooperation. By this law, we affirmed our basic faith in the wisdom of
    parents and communities and our fundamental belief in the promise of
    every child. The work of reform is well begun, and we are determined to
    continue that effort until every school in America is a place of
    learning and achievement.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 8:43 a.m. on January 3 at the Bush
    Ranch in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January 4. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    January 3 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his
    remarks, the President referred to Title I of the Improving America's
    Schools Act of 1994 (Public Law No. 103-382), which amended Title I of
    the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law No. 89-
    10). The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
    transcript of this address.