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Old Deluder Satan Act
This Act was passed by the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1647. It required towns of fifty families to have an elementary school. Towns of one hundred families were required to have a Latin school. The push for these schools was brought on by religion so that way Puritan children could learn to read the bible and learn more about their religion. -
A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge
This bill was pushed by Thomas Jefferson and focused on a two track school for the "laboring and learned." Thomas Jefferson believed that education was important for citizens because it would enable them to know their rights and duties. It was used as way to turn Americans into patriotic and law-abiding citizens. Free public schools also offered the idea of an opportunity to self-government and happiness. -
New York Public School Society
In 1805 the New York Public School Society was formed by Mayor Dewitt Clinton and backed by a group of wealthy business men. This Public School Society established schools to be open to all with no charge. It was specifically targeted to poor children to instill religious values and basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. These schools stressed discipline and obedience in order to fulfill the qualities that factory owners would want in their employees. -
Native American Boarding Schools
Sixty years before Native Americans were even considered to be U.S. citizens, Congress made it illegal for Native Americans to be taught in their native languages. Children were removed from their families and placed into boarding schools. In these boarding schools they were forced to speak english, cut their hair, and educate them on Euro-American standards. This impacted the Native American population immensely as it took away their culture. -
Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a ruling made by the Supreme Court that made it legal for Louisiana to have the right of "separate but equal." This meant that Louisiana required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. It was the first time that the federal government recognized segregation as being legal. Although the fourteenth amendment was passed 10 years prior it obviously did not apply to everyone. -
Brown v Board of Education Topeka
This event was a positive one for the United States. The Supreme Court unanimously agreed that segregated schools were unequal. A class action lawsuit pursued by Oliver Brown the father of Linda, who was forced to walk six blocks to her bus stop and then bus another mile away. Although there was an all white school only seven blocks from her home. There was much resistance of desegregating schools following this decision but it played a huge impact on the educational system. -
Engel v Vitale
This case occurred because the New York public school system was starting each day with a nondenominational prayer acknowledging dependence on god. This case was led by Steven Engel, a father of one of the students attending school. It was voted as being unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment. I think that was a positive because although many people do believe in a god there are millions of people who have other beliefs and one belief should not be pushed on others. -
Tinker v Des Moines
A group of students decided to wear black armbands in silent protest of the Vietnam War. The principal found out & warned them that if they did they would be suspended. A few students continued with their silent protest and were suspended, their parents then sued the school for violating their children's right to free speech. The court agreed with the parents. I think this is positive, students should be allowed their right to free speech as long as it does not incite violence or hate. -
Title IX
This federal law signed by President Nixon was formed to provide every educational program that received federal funding fairly to males and females. It prohibits sexual harassment and sexual violence at where one goes to school. In sports it meant that no one should be excluded from participating or discriminated against whether male or female. I think that this was a positive law because the federal government was backing up both genders and requiring there to be gender equity. -
Education of all Handicapped Children Act
This act was formed to provide an education for millions of children with disabilities who had been excluded from the education system. It assures that children with disabilities will have free public education that emphasizes on special education. P.L. 94-142 assures that the children and their parents would have their rights protected. It provided millions of children the opportunity to free education that would specifically and effectively educate all children with disabilities. -
Pyler v Doe
This court case began after a revision of education laws in Texas. The revision allowed Texas to withhold state funds from public school districts if they were educating children of undocumented immigrants. Fortunately the court denied this ruling because it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This was beneficial to children of undocumented parents because they were given the right to an education. -
New Jersey v T.L.O.
A teacher at a New Jersey high school found two girls smoking in the bathroom. She took them to the principal,T.L.O denied it. Principle then searched her bag & found marijuana, charges were brought against T.L.O. The court agreed with T.L.O. and that her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search & seizures had been violated. I think this is a positive because being that T.L.O. was a minor she should have had a parent or a lawyer present before the principal searched her bag.
