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Creation of the first State Board of Education
Massachusetts created the first State Board of Education. Horace Mann was the first appointed Secretary of Education. Neither the Board of Education nor the secretary had powers to enforce their ideas. They would investigate conditions report facts, expose defects and make recommendations. Under this direction community school systems became unified state school systems. -
The Cardinal Principles Report of 1918
As high school enrollment began to grow, schools began to look at ways to allow students to study different subjects within the same school. The Cardinal Principles Report of 1918 was written and reformed secondary schools in the U.S. by segmenting topics. It allowed the student to follow their own academic or vocational interests and plans. -
Brown vs Board of Education
The Civil Rights Movement lead to a lawsuit brought on behalf of elementary aged African American children in Topeka, KS. They wanted to attend public schools for whites as they felt their schools were not equal. In Brown vs Board of Education, Earl Warren wrote “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place,”. The court went on to rule that the plantiffs were being deprieved of equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th amendment. -
All Handicapped Children Act PL 94-142
The All Handicapped Children’s Act PL 94-142 required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one fee meal a day for children with physical and mental disabilities. All children ages 3-21 are eligible and schools will evaluate children with disabilities to create an education plan with parent input that is as close as possible to the educational experience of non-disabled students. -
No Child Left behind Act (NCLB)
This act enabled the federal government to hold states, districts and schools accountable for remedying the unequal achievement among students. It required states to develop assessments in basic skills and to receive federal school funding schools had to give these assessments. The success has been notable however because each state creates their own assessment it is not possible to see this success nationa wide.
