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Colonial Law Passed in Massachusetts
Every town of at least 50 families had to hire a schoolmaster who would teach the town's children to read and write and that all towns of at least 100 families should have a Latin grammar school master who will prepare students to attend Harvard College. -
First New England Primer Printed in Boston
This book is used in New England as the first widely used school-book. -
*****Noah Webster Creates: A Grammatical Institute of the English Language******
Consisted of Three volumes. A spelling book, a grammar book, and a reader. The Spelling book is the most commonly used book and promotes an "American Vocabulary." This was important because of the unification of what students were learning as it was distributed through most of the classrooms in the states. -
******Land Ordinance of 1785******
This ordinance stated that the territories are to be divided into townships made up of 640 acre sections. One of these is to be set aside for the purpose and maintenance of public schools. This is still in use today and was the primary contributing factor to our public schools today. -
Thomas Mann Becomes Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education.
Mann was one of the first Nationally recognized proponents for an american public education. Through his journals he pointed out many places where our system was failing. -
Land Grant Act
This act donates public land to states, the sale of which will be used to make colleges that focused more on agriculture and the mechanic arts. -
Department of Education Formed
In order to better facilitate the public schools in becoming more effective the Dept of Education was founded. -
Plessy Vs Ferguson
This lawsuit ended with the ideal of "separate but equal" -
***** Brown vs Board of Education ******
Ruled that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. and overturns The Plessy vs Ferguson case. This is the first real step in providing equality for education in the united states. -
Little Rock, Arkansas
Federal troops had to be called in to defend 9 African-American girls who were integrated into the public schools there. -
***** National Defense Education Act (NDEA) *****
In response to Russia's launch of sputnik, science and education became a huge focus in the U.S. This act authorizes more funds to be spent for scientific research as well as science, math and foreign language education. -
****** Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) *****
Part of Lyndon B Johnson's war on poverty, this act provides more funds to help low-income students. This is where Title 1 comes from. -
Rehabilitation Act
This act guarantees civil rights for people with disabilities. Usually refereed to as "504 plans," these provide accommodations for students with disabilities that don't qualify for an IEP. -
***** A Nation at Risk *****
This report called for sweeping reforms to education and teacher training. Among these was a call for schools to teach computer science. This was the first wave in creating a standardized education. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
This act mandates a public education to those individuals with disabilities. It also changed the terminology from Handicapped,to disabled. -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Enacted by President Bush, this law reauthorized ESEA and mandates high stakes testing and holds schools accountable for student achievement levels.