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Thomas Jefferson, who was the Governor of Virginia, wanted to expand education. He initiated a two-track educational system, which separated the privileged and the laborers. However, the system also allowed a small percentage of the laborers to receive a scholarship. As a result, a few amounts of laborers were allowed to succeed and prosper.
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In New York, wealthy men decided to form a group to pay for poor children to receive an education. This learning method was called the Lancasterian model. Schools focused on teaching the characteristics that factory owners wanted in their employees. A big group of poor older students would sit together in a big room and get taught by one educator. Later these older students would teach younger children that wanted an education as well.
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Louisiana passed a law allowing Caucasians and African Americans to travel on the same railroad but in different cars. Homer Plessy, who was 7/8ths Caucasian and 1/8th African American, chose to sit with the Caucasians. However, in Louisiana he was considered African American, so he was put on trial. As he fought for his rights, the judicial branches disagreed with him except the U.S Supreme Court. They noticed the law violated civil rights and discriminated against African Americans.
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In Topeka, Kansas, Caucasian or African American students were not allowed to attend the same school. Many parents agreed that it violated the 14th Amendment. In 1951, the Board of Education was then taken to the United States District Court by the parents. Unfortunately, the court ruled in favor of the Board of Education. Later, in 1954 The Supreme Court noticed separate is not equal and ruled segregation unconstitutional.
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Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President, passed a law allowing certain schools to receive a reasonable amount of funds for any supplies and resources they need. The main focus of this Act was to end the skill gap in several subjects. The schools with a vast amount of students from low-income families would be able to receive these funds. As a result, schools help their students be more successful in their education.
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Title IX was a law passed to protect women from being discriminated against in schools. This law helped women receive funds for after school sports and to be treated equally as male athletes. Schools could pick one of the three rules applied to the law to show equality; Proportionality, Progress, and Satisfied Interests. This also allowed female athletes to receive equal quality in their uniforms, equipment, supplies, and other things.
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The Education of all Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975 to help students with physical and mental disabilities. These students were given special classes to help them be successful. Before this Act, students with disabilities were turned down by schools due to the amount of attention they would need. Today, all public schools must accept disabled students and create an educational plan to help them succeed.
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In Columbus, Ohio, nine students were suspended for ten days by their principal for misbehaving. The principal did not allow a hearing for the students. As a result, one of the students took this to the supreme court because it violated the 14th Amendment. The court decided that schools should allow students to undergo a hearing.
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In 1975, the Texas legislature allowed schools to deny undocumented or non-citizen children from entering their schools. These students would have to pay a fee to public schools to get an education. 4 undocumented families took the Texas school district to court because it violated the 14th amendment. It was not until it reached the supreme court where they let undocumented or non-citizen children go to public school with no fees.
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The Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding sued Ohio State for the shortcoming of educational funds. More than 500 schools were affected because they relied on property taxes to fund the schools. As a result, wealthy students could meet the needs, while students who lived in low-income areas suffered. The supreme court concluded that school funding coming from high property taxes should be lowered.
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Before football games, a student would address the athletes along with saying a prayer at the end. Many students disagreed with this action. A Mormon and a Catholic family then sued the school for violating the 1st Amendment. The school said that the prayer was a private student speech. However, since it was used over the school's loudspeaker, the court said it was a school-sponsored prayer, therefore violating the 1st Amendment.
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George W. Bush, the 43rd president, passed the No Child Left Behind Act. The main focus of this Act was for the student achievement gap to end, which allowed students to have equal opportunity to receive a high-quality education. This Act required students to take state testing for math and reading. These tests were also used to see how schools can improve their education.
