Education policy of the United States

The education policy of the United States is the set of objectives of the federal government to support education in the United States. Federal laws provide funding and enforce regulations for elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. The Department of Education serves as the primary government organization responsible for enacting federal education policy in the United States.

Policy development

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building

The Constitution of the United States does not mention education, and the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution has been interpreted to give authority over education to the states. Regulation and funding of education is primarily handled by state and local governments, and the federal government provides only 8% of K-12 education funding in the United States. Congress does not have direct authority over education, so federal education policy is enforced by requiring compliance in order to receive federal funding. As a result, independent schools are not subject to federal education policy unless they are recipients of federal funding. In some cases, federal court rulings may influence education policy by striking down certain practices as unconstitutional. Schools in Washington, D.C. operate under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

The Department of Education carries out the education policy of the United States. The stated mission of the department is to "promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access". The existence of the Department of Education is controversial, with notable Republicans such as Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump criticizing it for expanding the federal government and the Republican Party platform at times calling for its abolition. Other executive departments also contribute to education. The Department of Defense Education Activity and the Bureau of Indian Education operate federally run school systems. Within the Department of State, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs facilitates student exchange programs for foreign students to study in the United States and American students to study abroad.

History

President Johnson at the signing of the ESEA with his childhood schoolteacher. (1965)

See also: History of education in the United States

Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was responsible for overseeing the territories of the United States. Under this authority, the Congress passed the earliest national laws addressing education. The Land Ordinance of 1785 set aside land for the construction of schools in the west, and the Northwest Ordinance authorized the Northwest Territory to construct schools.

The Department of Education was first established in 1867 to collect statistics on education in the United States, though it was demoted to the Office of Education and moved into the Department of the Interior the following year. The Morrill Act of 1890 authorized the office to administer support for land-grant universities. The Smith–Hughes Act of 1917 and the George–Barden Act of 1946 authorized federal funding for vocational training in high schools. The Lanham Act of 1941, the G.I. Bill of 1944, and the Impact Aid laws of 1950 provided educational benefits for American citizens and communities affected by World War II. The National School Lunch Act of 1946 provided assistance for students to obtain school meals. In 1946, President Truman assigned a commission to write the first federal education report, the Higher Education for American Democracy report.

Prior to 1954, schools were often segregated by race in the United States, and the Supreme Court had ruled segregation constitutional in the 1896 decision Plessy v. Ferguson. In the mid-20th century, the Supreme Court's stance began to change and it delivered a series of rulings that limited the constitutionality of segregation. In 1954, segregation in public schools was struck down entirely with Brown v. Board of Education. This decision faced strong backlash in southern states, and President Eisenhower established a military presence in Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce desegregation of public schools. Desegregation efforts continued to be enforced by the federal government through legal action for several decades afterward. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned racial discrimination in any program receiving federal funding and provided enforcement for the desegregation of public schools.

Following the launch of Sputnik 1, Congress passed the National Defense Education Act of 1958 to provide funding to schools in order to compete with the Soviet Union. The Great Society program and the war on poverty resulted in further expansions to federal education policy and new federal education programs during the 1960s. The Higher Education Act of 1965 was passed to increase funding for universities and help disadvantaged students afford tuition. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was passed to overhaul federal oversight of K-12 education in the United States, providing federal funding to support disadvantaged students and hire more qualified teachers. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was further modified by the Bilingual Education Act of 1967. The Education Amendments of 1972 made several changes to the American education system, including the implementation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that receive public funding. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act was passed in 1974 to protect student privacy. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975 to provide equal access to education for students with physical and mental disabilities, and it was modified by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990.

The Department of Education was reestablished and given cabinet status in 1980. Its creation was criticized by then-candidate Ronald Reagan during the 1980 presidential election. The Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 modified the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, deregulating and reducing federal funding for education. In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education produced the report A Nation at Risk, outlining issues with the American school system and increasing demand for education reform. The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 further reformed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In 2001, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was updated with the No Child Left Behind Act. This amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act established national requirements for curriculum standards and required standardized testing in schools to measure student performance. Following strong backlash, the No Child Left Behind Act was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.

Elementary and secondary education

President Obama at the signing of the ESSA. (2015)

Elementary and secondary education in the United States is governed by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as well as the subsequent acts that amended it. The largest component of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is Title I, which provides federal funding for schools in low income areas. In 2011, Title I made up 43% of federal elementary and secondary education spending, and the majority of school districts receive Title I funding. Other titles in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provide for libraries, instructional materials, teachers, educational research and development, and administrative spending for state education agencies. Under the Bilingual Education Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act also provides support for students of limited English proficiency.

As of 2015, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act. This revision of the act continues to provide financial assistance for underprivileged students, requires academic standards designed for college and career preparation, and provides support to increase access to preschool. It also repeals the standardized testing requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, replacing it with a system that gives more authority to state education administrations.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act governs protections and accommodations for students with disabilities in public schools. Students with disabilities are entitled to the least restrictive environment, with more restrictive measures such as separate classes or schooling for the disabled limited to when it is necessary. Mechanisms guaranteed to students with disabilities include Individualized Education Programs that customize students' education to fit individual needs and Free Appropriate Public Education that provides additional educational services when necessary. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act also entitles students a fair evaluation process to determine proper placement. Parents are entitled under the act to be informed about and provide input regarding their child's accommodations.

The Supreme Court has made several rulings relating to the federal rights of students in public schools. In 1954, segregation of schools by race was found unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. In 1969, free speech was guaranteed to students so long as it does not cause a "substantial disruption" in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. In 1985, freedom from search and seizure was guaranteed to students on a standard of reasonable suspicion in New Jersey v. T. L. O.

Higher education

Campus of the federally run United States Military Academy

Universities in the United States are typically run by state governments or privately owned. Federal academies are run directly by the federal government, and the United States service academies are organized as executive agencies within the government. Universities located in Washington, D.C. are federally chartered.

Under the Higher Education Act, the federal government provides financial support for qualifying institutions and students. The Department of Education provides student financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study jobs for qualifying students. G.I. bills, such as the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 and the Forever GI Bill, provide financial aid for military veterans. The Clery Act of 1990 requires all institutions receiving financial aid to report on crime statistics on campus.

Several Supreme Court cases have ruled on the conduct of universities. In 1978, racial quotas in universities were found to be unconstitutional in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. In 1982, single-sex admissions were found to be unconstitutional in Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan. In 1995, excluding religious groups while funding secular groups was found to be unconstitutional in Rosenberger v. University of Virginia.