Unfortunately, the federal money is spread too thin and student results are rarely the measure of success. After talking to countless teachers, superintendents, parents, principals, administrators and school board members, it is clear to me that our country needs a dramatic new approach to the federal role in education. 

We're in luck - the opportunity might just be ripe to rewrite the federal role. 

The political right's calls to abandon public education and the left's insistence on new programs and more spending without demands for results are both waning quickly. Now, a group of centrist New Democrats are leading the charge in a common-sense effort to consolidate programs and provide more flexibility for local schools in exchange for results. 

The New Democrat approach, which I have been working on with colleagues including Rep. Cal Dooley (D-Calif.) and Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), was largely embraced by President-elect George W. Bush during the campaign. If the new administration remains receptive to our ideas, a new paradigm in the role of the federal government's role in K-12 education could emerge as early as this year. 

Next week, a group of Senate and House New Democrats will unveil the Public Education Reinvestment, Reinvention and Responsibility Act (The Three R's). This comprehensive rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act would consolidate countless federal education programs into performance-based grants that go directly to school districts, give states and schools more flexibility, demand results from our public schools, and increase funding to help local schools meet their goals of teacher quality, high standards, and 21st-century learning. 

The Three R's would send funding to states and schools in six broad streams of funding. These streams would emphasize assisting schools with high rates of poverty, non-English-speaking students, teacher quality, public school choice and innovation. Each pot of money distributes funds to schools based on a variety of factors, but the goal is the same for each pot: increased flexibility for local schools in deciding how to best educate our children. 

We focus on results, not process. Currently, money is given out to states and local schools with rules, regulations and guidelines on how the money must be spent - unfortunately, none of those rules, regulations or guidelines emphasizes student achievement and results. 

The Three R's is a fundamental change in how the federal government evaluates the success of education spending. Under this proposal, each state would determine how to measure results and track student achievement. Schools that improve student performance will continue to see steady streams of funding, hundreds of staff hours spent on paperwork freed up to educate children, and bureaucracy and red tape dramatically reduced. Schools that fail to improve student performance will be evaluated by the state and can be reconstituted, opened as a charter school, or subject to other action that will ensure our children get the education they deserve. 

While there are differences between the New Democrat approach and President-elect George W. Bush's approach - for example, we send most funds directly to local school districts while he sends funds to the state, and we preserve funding specifically for educating disadvantaged children - his focus on consolidating programs and holding schools accountable for student performance seems to coincide with our goal. 

In the months ahead, I look forward to learning more about the President-elect's proposals and finding common ground to work on education policy in a bipartisan way. Improving our nation's schools and preparing our children for success in the new economy should be a priority we can all embrace, regardless of political party. 

We all know that the strength of our public schools depends first and foremost on the strength of the local communities, teachers, school board members, parents and principals. They are the people closest to the children, and they have the greatest impact on the quality of education the children receive. The Three R's bill represents this reality, invests in our local public schools, and establishes the right framework for federal education policy for the 21st century.