Rust Named to Commission on No Child Left Behind

Bloomington, Ill., March 6, 2006 -- Edward B. Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO of State Farm®, has been named to a bi-partisan independent commission established to make recommendations to Congress and the Administration on how the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act can be improved when it's up for reauthorization next year.

The commission is chaired by former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and former Georgia Governor Roy E. Barnes.

Housed at the Aspen Institute and funded by some of the nation's top education foundations, the commission will use several means to gather information and public input for its recommendations. This includes hosting five national hearings focused on teachers, assessments, accountability, and sanctions and incentives.

"Another important source of input is the commission's website," said Rust. "Individuals are able to go to www.nclbcommission.org to submit their ideas, concerns, and thoughts about NCLB directly to the commission. You can also find background information on NCLB, state-by-state academic achievement data, and updates on commission activities."

"The commission's staff will also be issuing a series of white papers that highlight key issues surrounding NCLB," said Rust, "and they'll also be posted on the website."

Rust has been actively involved in the business community's efforts to improve the quality of education in the U.S. He is former co-chairman of the Business Coalition for Excellence in Education and served on President Bush's Transition Advisory Team on Education. He is former chairman of the Business-Higher Education Forum, former chairman of The Business Roundtable's Education Initiative, a director of Achieve, Inc., a director of the National Center for Educational Accountability, and served on the National (Glenn) Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21 st Century.

Other commission members include:

• Craig Barrett, Chairman, Intel Corp.
• Christopher Edley, Jr., Dean, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
• Eugene Garcia, Dean, School of Education, Arizona State University
• Judith E. Heumann, Advisor on Disability and Development, the World Bank Group
• Thomas Y. Hobart, Jr., Former President, New York State United Teachers
• Jaymie Reeber Kosa, Middle school teacher, West Windsor-Plainsboro School District, Princeton, N.J.
• Andrea Messina, Vice Chairman, Charlotte County, Fla., School Board
• J. Michael Ortiz, President, California State Polytechnic University
• James Pughsley, Former Superintendent, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., Schools
• John Theodore Sanders, Executive Chairman, Cardean Learning Group and Co-chair, National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
• Jennifer Smith, Director, Principal Leadership Initiative, District of Columbia Public Schools
• Ed Sontag, Senior Advisor and Acting Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

The commission is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; the Joyce Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Corp. of New York, and the Spencer Foundation. The NCLB Act was enacted five years ago and is aimed at improving academic achievement for all students and reducing the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their non-disadvantaged peers.

"We know this effort is critically important to our children and to our nation's future," said Rust. "We know NCLB isn't perfect, but it has focused necessary attention on achievement and standards. I look forward to receiving input and helping formulate recommendations to Congress and the Bush administration."