I have backed the programs in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act with unprecedented increases in federal funding. In fact, federal support for public education has increased more during my first term than any previous administration. I have increased total funding for elementary and secondary education by $12.1 billion (49 percent) to a record $36.9 billion in 2005. Title I funding for low-income schools has increased $4.6 billion (52 percent) to $13.3 billion in 2005. Special education funding has increased $4.7 billion (75 percent) to $11.7 billion in 2005. We are concentrating federal funds on those schools and students that need our help the most.

I am also extremely proud of the flexibility we have provided under NCLB to local school leaders, who, for the first time, can reallocate funds among federal programs. Schools may transfer up to 50 percent of the funding they receive for Teacher Quality, Educational Technology, Innovative Programs, and Safe and Drug Free Schools to any one of those programs or to Title I for disadvantaged students. Using that flexibility, school officials can target additional funding to meet their unique needs. For example, schools can reallocate funds to purchase more technology, train teachers, reduce class size, provide bonuses for teachers, or purchase instructional materials.

As important as it is for us to increase support for public education, we must also ask ourselves: "What are we getting in return for that investment?" Recent international studies indicate that although the United States spends more per student than other industrialized nations, our academic performance, particularly among high schoolers, is unacceptably low. Part of equitable funding is ensuring that we leverage our investments to deliver the highest possible results for all our students.

No Child Left Behind accomplishes that by holding schools accountable to parents for ensuring that every child is receiving the attention and instruction he or she needs to be achieving at grade level in reading and math. A core component of the law is to close the achievement gap of reading and math proficiency that exists between students of different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. Assistance is provided to students who are in schools that repeatedly do not improve. The goal is to identify those students who are falling behind and then quickly provide the help they need to catch up.

Today, federal education spending is allocated at the discretion of Congress. That means it is vulnerable to funding cuts. I will create a National Education Trust Fund to ensure that new education programs authorized by Congress will be funded on a mandatory basis. As part of that initiative, I will fully fund the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act to hire more teachers and shrink class sizes, offer more students extra individualized help, better involve parents in schools, and offer more after-school and preschool opportunities.

At the same time, I will ensure that we get on a path to fully funding the federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), so that children with disabilities get the education they deserve. Short-changing special education has had a devastating impact on schools and communities, which have been forced to make up the difference. I have consistently supported efforts to fully fund the IDEA in Congress and, as president, I will ensure that the federal government becomes a true partner of state and local governments in the provision of special education.