These letters are key policy letters signed by the Education Secretary or Deputy Secretary and are provided by the Executive Secretariat, Office of the Secretary.
October 6, 2004Letter to schools and education groups describing lessons learned from the Beslan school incident that might be used to protect U.S. schools
September 30, 2004Letter to Honorable John Boehner urging Congress to enact legislation to end excessive special allowance payments to certain lenders under the Federal Family Education Loan Program
August 30, 2004Letter to Honorable Maurice Hinchey and others in response to inquiry regarding the Department's decision to disallow funding for captioning or video description of certain television programming
July 2004Letter to Superintendents regarding the arts as a core academic subject under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the role of the arts in education
June 7, 2004Letter to Honorable Edward M. Kennedy and others in response to letter dated March 10, 2004, requesting additional details regarding the U.S.
Department of Education's implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
May 2004Letter to educators regarding the National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day, May 31, 2004
April 27, 2004Letter to Honorable Edward M. Kennedy and others in response to letter dated March 24, 2004, requesting that States be allowed to recalculate adequate yearly progress decisions based on data from the 2002-2003 school year using new flexibility offered by the Department for students with significant cognitive disabilities and limited English proficient students
March 31, 2004Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding opportunities for flexibility in meeting the highly qualified teacher requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act
February 24, 2004Letter to Honorable Edward M. Kennedy and others in response to inquiry regarding the Department's implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act
February 23, 2004Letter to Honorable Susan Collins in response to her letter following up on the diploma mill summit
February 20, 2004Letter to Chief State School Officers on No Child Left Behind providing new guidance on additional flexibility concerning limited English proficient students
January 2004Letter to Superintendents advising of the establishment of the No Child Left Behind Superintendents Hotline
December 11, 2003Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding opportunities for flexibility in meeting the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act for including students with disabilities in state assessment and accountability systems
October 21, 2003Letter to Sandra Feldman regarding whether highly qualified teachers employed by a school or district identified for improvement may provide supplemental educational services
October 17, 2003Letter to Honorable Ruben Hinojosa in response to his inquiry concerning the difficulties that students with diabetes may be experiencing in bringing prescribed medications and treatment devices to schools and in administering such required medications and treatments
October 9, 2003Letter to Honorable Susan Collins in response to her inquiry regarding diploma mills
August 28, 2003Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding implementation of Title I choice and supplemental educational services provisions of No Child Left Behind
July 28, 2003Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding the Teacher Assistance Corps and efforts to share ideas about improvements in teacher quality
July 2, 2003Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding release of student information to military recruiters
June 27, 2003Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding State accountability plans under the No Child Left Behind Act and inclusion of students with disabilities
May, 2003Letter to educators regarding the National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day, May 26, 2003
March 24, 2003Letter to Chief State School Officers and others regarding the 'highly qualified' teachers requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and international teacher exchange programs
March 6, 2003Letter to Honorable Sandy Garrett, Superintendent, Oklahoma Dept. of Ed., regarding request for waiver of maintenance of effort requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act
February 20, 2003Letter from Education Under Secretary Eugene W. Hickok and Agriculture Under Secretary Eric M. Bost providing guidance on implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act by schools that operate school lunch programs under Provision 2 and Provision 3 of the National School Lunch Program
February 4, 2003Letter to Honorable John Boehner, Honorable Peter Hoekstra, and Honorable Howard 'Buck' McKeon regarding new guidance on the application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to reporting under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
January 30, 2003Memorandum to Chief State School Officers and others providing additional guidance on the application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to reporting under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
October 22, 2002Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and the importance of identifying schools in need of improvement to ensure that every child learns
September 16, 2002Letter to Governors regarding the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
September 10, 2002Letter to Honorable Buck McKeon regarding the Department's determination of financial responsibility for postsecondary institutions participating in the Federal student aid programs authorized by Title IV of the HEA, as amended
September 10, 2002Letter to Honorable Patricia Schroeder regarding the "Analysis of Reading Assessment Instruments for K-3" and discussing the use of instructional assessments as a key component of Reading First
July 24, 2002Dear Colleague Letter to education officials regarding implementation of No Child Left Behind and accountability, and providing guidance on adequate yearly progress
June 14, 2002Dear Colleague Letter to education officials regarding implementation of No Child Left Behind and providing guidance on public school choice, supplemental education services, and collective bargaining agreements
June 6, 2002Dear Colleague Letter to education officials regarding implementation of No Child Left Behind and plans for providing guidance
May 17, 2002Letter to educators regarding the National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day, May 27, 2002
April 24, 2002Letter to Chief State School Officers regarding the extension of Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs) and reminder of allocations about to expire
April 5, 2002Letter to Honorable Patricia Schroeder providing further clarification of guidance issued by the Department for the Reading First program
March 26, 2002Letter to Honorable Tammy Baldwin and 28 other Members of Congress regarding late delivery of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for 2002-03
March 11, 2002Letter to William H. Gray, III regarding President Bush's commitment to meeting the needs of all America's students, particularly students from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds
February 15, 2002Letter to Chief State School Officers highlighting key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and listing early deadline dates for implementation
February 11, 2002Letter to chief state school officers regarding actions taken by the Department to address the needs of those affected by September 11 terrorist attacks
February 7, 2002Letter to Superintendents regarding No Child Left Behind
December 12, 2001Letter to Dr. J. Michael Mullen regarding GEAR UP and other postsecondary programs the Department of Education administers
October 9, 2001Letter to school principals asking that students, teachers, parents, and other Americans join the U.S. Secretary of Education in showing our patriotism by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at a single time and with a unified voice in classrooms across the country on Friday, October 12, 2001
September 19, 2001Letter to Chief State School Officers and College and University Presidents regarding reports of incidents of harassment and violence directed at persons perceived to be Arab Americans or of Middle Eastern or South Asian origin, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
September 6, 2001Letter to the American Psychological Association expressing the Department's concern over the American Psychological Association's proposal to eliminate "Footnote 4" from its accreditation standards for psychology programs
August 13, 2001Letter to conferees expressing the Administration's views on issues related to the House and Senate versions of H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the "Better Education for Students and Teachers Act of 2001"
August 13, 2001Letter to conferees on the House and Senate versions of H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the "Better Education for Students and Teachers Act of 2001" urging that they delete the Senate amendment that would remove the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act from the annual appropriations process
June 19, 2001Letter to Congressman Earl Blumenauer and others regarding Administration programs on education technology and the E-rate program
June 14, 2001Letter to Honorable Betsy Brand regarding high school reform and its place in the President's education agenda
May 22, 2001Letter to Congressman Charles Norwood and others regarding efforts to correct long-standing management problems at the Department
May 17, 2001Letter to Senator Robert Byrd regarding the Administration's FY2002 budget request relating to school safety, reading, and school modernization
May 16, 2001Letter to Congressman Charles Norwood regarding comprehensive blueprint for management excellence at the U.S. Department of Education
May 15, 2001Letter to Senator Patty Murray regarding education reform and class size reduction
May 8, 2001Letter to Mr. Tom Jennings regarding recently published Department of Education final regulations that revise the scope of employment outcomes under the Vocational Rehabilitation Program
May 8, 2001Letter to Dr. Dallas Martin regarding guidance on the applicability of the prohibition on incentive compensation payments under the Higher Education Act
May 4, 2001Letter to Governor Jane Dee Hull regarding funding for schools that provide services solely to homeless children
Archives of Key Policy Letters Signed by the Education Secretary or Deputy Secretary From Previous Administrations