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Schools Created to Fit Population
General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony created a law that any town that consists of families of 50 or more must support an elementary school. Towns with families of 100 or more must support a Latin school. Boys attended the Latin schools which were intended to prepare them for college eventually. Both boys and girls were allowed to attend the elementary schools where education was very religion-based. -
Free Public Education For All
A law in Massachusetts is passed to allow students of any grade level to attend without being charged tuition. -
Plessy v Ferguson
Louisiana is allowed to create "separate but equal" railroad cars to segregate different races. This case resulted from an incident in which a black man refused to sit in the "black train car". He argued that not being allowed to sit in the "white" car was a violation of rights. The Supreme Court ruled that the separation was merely a "legal distinction" and therefore still constitutional. This decision ultimately led to schools becoming legally segregated as well. -
Compulsory Attendance
Every state (48 states at the time) put compulsory education laws into effect which required children of elementary age to attend school. The acceptance of this law was the belief that a public education was the best way to help immigrants fully understand American culture. It was also created to improve the literacy of the poor population. -
1954 Brown v Board of Education Topeka
This was a combination of cases from 5 separate states that involved segregation based on race within schools. African American students had been denied admittance to certain schools as a result. The case of Plessy v Ferguson was referenced for the argument against Brown's claim. However, US Supreme Court rules that segregated school are "inherently unequal" and therefore was a violation of the 14th amendment. -
Tinker v Des Moines
This case involved Mary Beth Tinker who was 13 years old and her brother. They were protesting the Vietnam War by wearing black arm bands. Their school would not allow them to be worn during classes out of fear of disruption. This was ruled unconstitutional because it impacts students' rights to "freedom of speech and expression". This means that students have these rights outside and inside of school, as long as they are not being disruptive. -
Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Children v Commonwealth
Pennsylvania at this time had a law in place that allowed public schools to deny attendance to certain students that had cognitive disabilities. These students were considered "too burdensome" to include in a mainstream classroom. The judge ruled that all children can benefit from a program of education, no matter their mental capabilities. Not only was the law overturned, but new requirements were put into place to provide those with special needs free education until the age of 21. -
1972 Title IX
This was passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. The law was intended to eliminate discrimination based on gender for students in federally funded programs. These programs included libraries, public schools and museums. It allowed for equal opportunity in athletics and outlawed discrimination against pregnant women. This affects women who were not allowed to play sports or other activities based on their gender. This law meant a big breakthrough for women's equal rights. -
Lau v Nichols
This case involved Chinese immigrant students who were in public school and did not speak English. They were receiving the same education as their peers, but because they had no background in the English language they were falling behind academically. The court ruled that although they were being taught "equally" it was still a violation of the Civil Rights Act. They needed to first understand English in order for their education opportunities to truly be equal. This impacts ELL's. -
Education of All Handicapped Children Act
This was a law the the United States Congress created for public schools that use federal funding. They are required to proved equal education for children with any kind of mental or physical disability. This meant that they not only had to meet normal educational requirements, but also co-create plans with the parents of these children in order to better accommodate their needs. This greatly influenced future programs and early interventions for special education students. -
Plyler v Doe
This was a lawsuit against Superintendent James Plyler who had been charging tuition for students of undocumented parents. He was able to do this because of a Texas law that had been passed. The tuition was $1000 annually. When student's families couldn't pay, they were not allowed to attend school. The US Supreme court ruled that this violated the equal protection clause and that innocent children have a right to free and public education, regardless of their parents' legal status. -
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Abbott v Burke
This case involves a series of ongoing rulings regarding how the state of New Jersey's was funding urban and suburban schools. Those in poorer districts were receiving less funds than those in wealthier districts. This effected the quality of education and resources that the districts of impoverished areas were receiving. Abbott was just one of many students involved in the lawsuit against Burke (education commissioner). The rulings state that each district is entitle to equal funding. -
Proposition 187
Proposition 187 was created by the state of California to make illegal immigrants not eligible to receive public benefits. These would include public education. Several groups including MALDEF and ACLU filed lawsuits against this proposed statute. The District Court Judge eventually struck down the law stating that it was not up to individual states to regulate immigration. Students of immigrants would have been negatively impacted by this law, had it come to pass. -
No Child Left Behind Act
This was passed as part of President George W. Bush's Education Reform Bill. This affected all students in public school because it required state testing for students in 3rd-8th grade, and again in high school. The purpose was to set certain benchmarks for students in reading and math and to make sure that they were being met nationwide.
