Judd Gregg: “I wanted to speak today on a number of issues--primarily on the issue of the legislation we passed a year ago, which was…”

“I wanted to speak today on a number of issues--primarily on the issue of the legislation we passed a year ago, which was landmark legislation, called ``No Child Left Behind.'' It fundamentally changed the way the Federal Government and many of our educational institutions across the Nation will approach the education of low-income especially, but children generally. Yesterday was the 1-year anniversary of this extraordinary bill, the most significant piece of education reform legislation passed by the Congress. It was the primary domestic policy initiative of the President in his first 2 years in office. It continues to be one of his primary focuses. The No Child Left Behind bill had as its goal essentially a few items. No. 1 was that low income children who for years have been basically warehoused through our system will no longer be put into that situation. Low-income children especially will be given the opportunity to learn and compete in our society and be given the opportunity to receive an education that will allow them to participate in the American dream; and that no child--low-income or not--should be left behind by our educational system.”