[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[October 5, 2006]
[Pages 1782-1783]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Department of Education
October 5, 2006

    I want to thank Secretary Spellings 
and her fine team for welcoming me here to the Department of Education. 
I have just reassured the Secretary and the folks who work here that the 
reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act is a priority of this 
administration. And the reason I say it's a priority is because this act 
is working. We strongly believe in setting high standards for all 
students, and we strongly believe that in order to make sure those 
standards are met, we must measure to determine whether or not the 
schools are functioning the way we expect them to function and the way 
the parents expect them to function and the way the taxpayers expect 
them to function.
    No Child Left Behind is working, and we've been strategizing here as 
to how to make sure we not only defend it during the reauthorization 
process but how we strengthen the law.
    And so I want to thank you all for your work. I particularly want to 
thank the teachers and principals who have taken the No Child Left 
Behind Act and have implemented it and have seen the dramatic results 
that can be achieved by rigorous academics and strong curriculum and 
hard work in the classroom.
    The most important function of Government at home is to make sure 
that a child receives an excellent education, and that's particularly 
important in a world that is becoming more globalized. I'm optimistic we 
can achieve our objectives. I know this law is working, and I look 
forward to working with Congress in the next legislative session to 
reauthorize and strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act.
    Thank you.

[[Page 1783]]

Note: The President spoke at 10:03 a.m. The Office of the Press 
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.