Washington, DC, March 23, 2004—Chief state school officers from over 35 states met yesterday with President George W. Bush in a private session at the White House. Joining President Bush were several of his top advisors including U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige; Margaret Spellings, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; David Dunn, Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; Eugene Hickok, Acting Deputy Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education; and Raymond Simon, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education. As part of CCSSO’s Annual Legislative Conference, state school officers had the opportunity to talk openly with the President about many issues, including additional flexibility within No Child Left Behind (NCLB), special education, and education funding.
“We are pleased that we had an opportunity to meet with the President and discuss key legislative and regulatory issues,” stated CCSSO President Ted Stilwill. “Our members have an unshakable commitment to the principles of NCLB and will continue to work closely with the current administration to improve educational opportunities for every child.”
During the two-hour private session, chief state school officers reiterated their support for the premise of NCLB and high standards and accountability in education. Recognizing some of the recent flexibilities allowed in the law, chiefs also commended the administration for their open dialogue around NCLB. However, chiefs requested that the administration continue to explore for additional areas of flexibility in the law. White House officials agreed that flexibility at the state and local levels is important and stated they would continue to work with education officials to make NCLB workable at all levels of implementation.
CCSSO President and Iowa’s Director of Education, Ted Stilwill, noted that chief state school officers were pleased with the additional funding and flexibilities within NCLB, especially in the areas of limited English proficiency and special education. Yet, he spoke very clearly to the issue of education funding. Stilwill said that while education funding is a complex issue, the continuing debate around “unspent” federal funds continues to be problematic on the state and local level. The integrity of state education agencies often comes into question and state legislatures are looking for reasons to give states fewer dollars for education. Stilwill called on the administration to clarify that the funds were indeed fully committed to support federal education programs and not "unspent."
CCSSO Board Member and Delaware’s Secretary of Education, Valerie Woodruff, said additional flexibilities within the law may still be needed. In the future, chiefs would likely begin to look more closely at the possibility of making changes to NCLB; however Woodruff asked the White House and the Department of Education to commit to an open, on-going dialogue about what will best help states further the implementation of NCLB.
Terry Bergeson, Washington’s Superintendent of Public Instruction and chair of CCSSO’s Task Force on Special Education, spoke candidly about the upcoming IDEA reauthorization. Many chiefs expressed serious concern with the Senate version of the bill. Specifically, they noted the provisions that pertain to highly qualified teachers, along with monitoring and compliance issues as primary areas of concern. Bergeson requested that officials look more closely at the language in the Senate bill and urged those in attendance to seek the assistance of chiefs and state education agencies.
The meeting concluded with the President offering a personal greeting to each CCSSO member in attendance. Chief state school officers were gathered in Washington, DC for a three-day legislative conference. This annual meeting provides chief state school officers an opportunity to convene around key legislative and policy issues related to education.
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The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
