User:Lcwest/Education reform

Bibliography/ Source Page: User:Lcwest/Education reform/Bibliography Lauren Sandbox: User:Lcwest/new sandbox

Contents

1 Inequalities in Education Reform [Jayna]

2 Charter Schools [Nick]

• 1990-2000: Standards Based Education Model
• 2001-2015: No Child Left Behind

3 Private Interest in American Charter Schools [William]

4 Lauren West Contributions:

5 Education Reform

5.11.4.1 Horace Mann

5.22 History of Public School Reform - United States

5.2.12.2 Post Revolution

5.2.22.3 Reconstruction and the American Industrial Revolution

5.2.32.4 Mid 20th and early 21st century (United states)

5.2.3.12.4.1 Reforms arising from the Civil Rights era

5.2.3.22.4.3 1990s and 2000s

5.2.3.32.4.4 Obama administration (2009-2017)

5.2.46. Social Strategies

5.3 Drafted for Live Contribution [not using]

5.3.120th Century

5.3.2 Civil Rights Era: (original draft) [see above for live contribution]

5.3.2.1 Reforming Education Legislation In America: A Modern Timeline

5.4 References

Inequalities in Education Reform [Jayna]

a.     The cost of inequality

               https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/02/the-costs-of-inequality-educations-the-one-key-that-rules-them-all/

b.    https://www.epi.org/publication/education-inequalities-at-the-school-starting-ga

                 Why it matters

                  What can be done about it

c.     Still Separate, Still not equal

                  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/learning/lesson-plans/still-separate-still-unequal-teaching-about-school-segregation-and-educational-inequality.html

Possible References:

affirmative action

Educational Inequality

Charter Schools [Nick]

Nick, I've copied here the existing sub-heading under History of Public School Reform- United States.

You may want to incorporate [your contributions] on Charter School here. Of course, you don't have to, should you chose to create your own sub-heading. Still, I feel that your contributions will add value to this existing section. - LW

**You can modify this existing content below in order to incorporate your contributions.

**Reminder: When you add your contributions to the live page..make sure you copy the work in editing mode so that the links and citations transfer to the live article**

1990-2000: Standards Based Education Model

See also: Standards-based education reform

In 1994, the land grant system was expanded via the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to include tribal colleges.

Most states and districts in the 1990s adopted Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in some form or another. A state would create a committee to adopt standards, and choose a quantitative instrument to assess whether the students knew the required content or could perform the required tasks.

In 1992 The National Commission on Time and Learning, Extension (Public Law 102–359) revise funding for civic education programs and those educationally disadvantaged children."

In 1994 the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) (Public Law 103-382) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; amended as The Eisenhower Professional Development Program; IASA designated Title I funds for low income and otherwise marginalized groups; i.e., females, minorities, individuals with disabilities, individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). By tethering federal funding distributions to student achievement, IASA meant use high stakes testing and curriculum standards to hold schools accountable for their results at the same level as other students. The Act significantly increased impact aid for the establishment of the Charter School Program, drug awareness campaigns, bilingual education, and technology.

In 1998 The Charter School Expansion Act (Public Law 105-278) amended the Charter School Program, enacted in 1994.  

2001-2015: No Child Left Behind

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001 (Public Law 106-554) appropriated funding to repair educational institution's buildings as well as repair and renovate charter school facilities, reauthorized the Even Start program, and enacted the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

The standards-based National Education Goals 2000, set by the U.S. Congress in the 1990s, were based on the principles of outcomes-based education. In 2002, the standards-based reform movement culminated as the No Child left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110) where achievement standard were set by each individual state. This federal policy was active until 2015 in the United States .

An article released by CBNC.com said a principal Senate Committee will take into account legislation that reauthorizes and modernizes the Carl D. Perkins Act. President George Bush approved this statute in 2006 on August 12, 2006. This new bill will emphasize the importance of federal funding for various Career and Technical (CTE) programs that will better provide learners with in-demand skills. Pell Grants are specific amount of money is given by the government every school year for disadvantaged students who need to pay tuition fees in college.

At present, there are many initiatives aimed at dealing with these concerns like innovative cooperation between federal and state governments, educators, and the business sector. One of these efforts is the Pathways to Technology Early College High School (P-TECH). This six-year program was launched in cooperation with IBM, educators from three cities in New York, Chicago, and Connecticut, and over 400 businesses. The program offers students in high school and associate programs focusing on the STEM curriculum. The High School Involvement Partnership, private and public venture, was established through the help of Northrop Grumman, a global security firm. It has given assistance to some 7,000 high school students (juniors and seniors) since 1971 by means of one-on-one coaching as well as exposure to STEM areas and careers.

Controversies and criticisms surrounding Charter Schools in the United States [Nick]

Charter Schools in the United States took prevalence after Minnesota passed its Charter School Law in 1991 and California following suit in 1992 passing their own law. The laws gave full administrative privileges' to a board of directors, composed of the licensed teachers that work for the school.[1]. Soon after the whole country followed, leading to one of the largest attempts at educational reform in United States history. By giving the administrators of the schools full permission as to how the schools are ran, the new charter schools had substantially more freedom as to how the school was ran, as long as a few basic elements exist: the school must be open to all children, may not charge tuition fees, and they must participate in the same state and federal testing programs as public schools. With these guidelines in mind, the board of directors for each charter school get together and draw a "Charter" which lays the foundation of how the school will be funded and operated, as well as the mission statement of the school. Charter schools sign charter contracts, usually with the district it exists in, and is renewed on a five year basis.

Although the idea of charters was to improve accountability of the results of public education, charters have been criticized for their negative affects on public schools, such as diverting money from public schools in the same district. Charter schools often compete with public schools for public funding as a direct effect of parents actually enrolling their children into charter schools instead of traditional public schools. This disparity occurs because charter schools are funded per student, so as charters acquire more students less funding is available for traditional public schools. Due to these disparate impacts, some have called for federal funding for charter expansion to be withheld until better guidelines have been established that ensure the funds protect public interest and advance the systemwide goals they are intended to address.[2]. Another criticism of charter schools is a process called 'skimming' that occurs in some districts. Skimming occurs when charters attract and exclusively enroll higher performing students, while disabled and other disadvantaged groups are often excluded [3]. Charters have been a hot political topic due to these criticisms and caught more national attention when Betsy DeVos the Secretary of Education under the Trump administration pushed and encouraged the expansion of charter schools. A particular criticism being her revision to the Borrower Defense to Repayment under the Federal Student Aid, she wrote a revision to the defense that required the proof the questioned school had intent to mislead the plaintiff. The revision was extreme enough to cause bipartisan block from Congress from which Donald Trump used a veto to pass.[4]

Private Interest in American Charter Schools [William]

Charter schools are businesses in which both the cost and risk are fully funded by the taxpayers. The Number of charter schools in the U.S. 2001-2019. In the 2018/19 school year, there were 7,427 charter schools throughout the United States. This is a significant increase from the 2000/01 school year, when there were 1,993 charter schools in the United States. Some charter schools are nonprofit in name only and are structured in ways that individuals and private enterprises connected to them can make money. Other charter schools are for-profit. The global education market is valued at over $5T, embodying the hopes and aspirations of people everywhere.[5] In many cases, the public is largely unaware of this rapidly changing educational landscape, the debate between public and private/market approaches, and the decisions that are being made that affect their children and communities. In this rapidly changing environment, research on the impact of different approaches to educational improvement is available and should be included in discussions and policy decisions.[6] Critics have accused for-profit entities, (education management organizations, EMOs) and private foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation of funding Charter school initiatives to undermine public education and turn education into a "Business Model" which can make a profit. According to activist Jonathan Kozol, education is seen as one of the biggest market opportunities in America or "the big enchilada". In some cases a school's charter is held by a non-profit that chooses to contract all of the school's operations to a third party, often a for-profit CMO. This arrangement is defined as a vendor-operated school, (VOS). The largest CMO provider (KIPP Foundation) had nearly twice as many schools and enrolled nearly twice as many students as the next largest provider in 2009-2010 (see Table 3). The EMO provider with the most students (K12 Inc.) enrolled nearly twice as many students as the largest CMO provider (KIPP Foundation). The top ten largest EMO providers enrolled 150,000 more students than the top ten largest CMO providers. The average student enrollment in EMO-affiliated charter schools was 494 students, compared with 306 students in CMO- affiliated charter schools and 301 in freestanding charter schools. At least five states have passed legislation requiring that students complete at least one virtual class in order to obtain a high school diploma.28 Slate reports that in 2011, Republican legislators in Florida passed legislation making the completion of at least one virtual class a graduation requirement—and that at least 32 of the state lawmakers who supported the law had received donations from K12 the prior year. While K12 Inc. does not disclose details of its lobbying efforts, Education Week estimates that the company spent over $10 million on lobbying efforts in 21 states.30 At its 2016 annual meeting, K12 Inc. rejected a shareholder-led transparency proposal that would have required the company’s board of directors to produce a yearly report on K12 Inc.’s direct and indirect lobbying of policymakers.31 The proposal, which won support from major analysts,32 also received significant support from shareholders.

Lauren West Contributions:

• Contributed to Lede1 History

1.4.1 Horace Mann [added content]

1.4.2 Dewey [minor edits]

Created:

2 History of Public School Reform - United States

2.1 Colonial America

2.2 Post Revolution

2.3 Reconstruction and the American Industrial Revolution

2.4 Mid 20th and early 21st century (United states)

2.4.1 Reforms arising from the Civil Rights era

6. Social Strategies (added to Motivations)

Added To:

2.4.2 1980s

2.4.3 1990s and 2000s

2.4.4 Obama administration (2009-2017)

Education Reform

Throughout history, public schools have filled multiple roles as educational pedagogy developed to meet society's needs. As part of the broader social and political processes, the term education reform, also called reform movements, refers to the chronology of significant, systematic revisions made to amend the educational legislation, standards, methodology, and policy affecting the nation's public school system to reflect contemporary society. For example, the history of education reform in the United States has ranged from teaching literacy and proficiency of religious doctrine to establishing cultural literacy, assimilating immigrants into a democratic society, producing a skilled labor force for the industrialized workplace, preparing students for careers, and competing in a global marketplace.

1.4.1 Horace Mann

[In the United States, Horace Mann (1796 – 1859) of Massachusetts used his political base and role as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education to promote public education in his home state and nationwide. Advocating a substantial public investment be made in education, Mann and his proponent developed a strong system of state supported common schools that taught the “three R’s” (reading, writing, arithmetic), along with other subjects such as history, geography, grammar, and rhetoric..

His crusading style attracted wide middle class support. Historian Ellwood P. Cubberley asserts:

No one did more than he to establish in the minds of the American people the conception that education should be universal, non-sectarian, free, and that its aims should be social efficiency, civic virtue, and character, rather than mere learning or the advancement of sectarian ends.

In 1852, Massachusetts passed a law making education mandatory. This model of free, accessible education spread throughout the country and in 1917, Mississippi was the final state to adopt the law.

2 History of Public School Reform - United States

In the United States, public education is characterized as "any federally funded primary or secondary school, administered to some extent by the government, and charged with educating all citizens. Although there is typically a cost to attend some public higher education institutions, they are still considered part of public education."

2.1 Colonial America

In what would become the United States, the first public school was established in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 23, 1635. Post-secondary education was a commonly utilized tool to distinguish one's social class and social status during this time. Puritan schoolmaster Philemon Pormont led instruction at the Boston Latin School.Access to education was the "privilege of white, upper-class, Christian male children" in preparation for university education in ministry.

In colonial America, to maintain Puritan religious traditions, formal and informal education instruction focused on teaching literacy. All colonists needed to understand the written language on some fundamental level in order to read the Bible and the colony's written secular laws. Religious leaders recognized that each person should be "educated enough to meet the individual needs of their station in life and social harmony." The first compulsory education laws were passed in Massachusetts between 1642-1648 when religious leaders noticed not all parents were providing their children with proper education. These laws stated that all towns with 50 or more families were obligated to hire a schoolmaster to teach children reading, writing, and basic arithmetic.

"In 1642 the General Court passed a law that required heads of households to teach all their dependents — apprentices and servants as well as their own children — to read English or face a fine. Parents could provide the instruction themselves or hire someone else to do it. Selectmen were to keep 'a vigilant eye over their brethren and neighbors,' young people whose education was neglected could be removed from their parents or masters."

The 1647 law eventually led to establishing publicly funded district schools in all Massachusetts towns, although, despite the threat of fines, compliance and quality of public schools were less than satisfactory.

"Many towns were 'shamefully neglectful' of children's education. In 1718 '...by sad experience, it is found that many towns that not only are obliged by law, but are very able to support a grammar school, yet choose rather to incur and pay the fine or penalty than maintain a grammar school."

When John Adams drafted the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, he included provisions for a comprehensive education law that guaranteed public education to all citizens. However, access to formal education in secondary schools and colleges was reserved for free, white males. During the 17th and 18th centuries, females received little or no formal education except for home learning or attending Dame Schools.  Likewise, many educational institutions maintained a policy of refusing to admit Black applicants. The Virginia Code of 1819 outlawed teaching enslaved people to read or write.

2.2 Post Revolution

Soon after the American Revolution, early leaders, like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, proposed the creation of a more "formal and unified system of publicly funded schools" to satiate the need to "build and maintain commerce, agriculture and shipping interests". Their concept of free public education was not well received and did not begin to take hold on until the 1830s. However, in 1790, evolving socio-cultural ideals in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania led to the first significant and systematic reform in education legislation that mandated economic conditions would not inhibit a child's access to education:

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – 1790 ARTICLE VII Section I. The legislature shall, as soon as conveniently may be, provide, by law, for the establishment of schools throughout the state, in such manner that the poor may be taught gratis.

2.3 Reconstruction and the American Industrial Revolution

During Reconstruction, from 1865-1877, African Americans worked to encourage public education in the South. With the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which held that "segregated public facilities were constitutional so long as the black and white facilities were equal to each other", this meant that African American children were legally allowed to attend public schools, although these schools were still segregated based on race. However, by the mid-twentieth century, civil rights groups would challenge racial segregation.

During the second half of the nineteenth century (1870 and 1914), America's Industrial Revolution refocused the nation's attention on the need for a universally accessible public school system. Inventions, innovations, and improved production methods were critical to the continued growth of American manufacturing. To compete in the global economy, an overwhelming demand for literate workers that possessed practical training emerged. Citizens argued, "educating children of the poor and middle classes would prepare them to obtain good jobs, thereby strengthen the nation's economic position." Institutions became an essential tool in yielding ideal factory workers with sought-after attitudes and desired traits such as dependability, obedience, and punctuality. Vocationally oriented schools offered practical subjects like shop for students who were not planning to attend college for financial or other reasons. Not until the latter part of the 19th century did public elementary schools become available throughout the country. It would be longer for children of color, girls, and children with special needs to attain access free public education.

2.4 Mid 20th and early 21st century (United states)

2.4.1 Reforms arising from the Civil Rights era

Systemic bias remained a formidable barrier. From the 1950s to the 1970s, many of the proposed and implemented reforms in U.S. education stemmed from the civil rights movement and related trends; examples include ending racial segregation, and busing for the purpose of desegregation, affirmative action, and banning of school prayer.

In the early 1950s, most U.S. public schools operated under a legally sanctioned racial segregation system. Civil Rights reform movements sought to address the biases that ensure unequal distribution of academic resources such as school funding, qualified and experienced teachers, and learning materials to those socially excluded communities. In the early 1950s, the NAACP lawyers brought class-action lawsuits on behalf of black schoolchildren and their families in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware, petitioning court orders to compel school districts to let black students attend white public schools. Finally, in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected that framework with Brown v. Board of Education and declared state-sponsored segregation of public schools unconstitutional.

In 1964, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (Public Law 88-352) "prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance." Educational institutions could now utilize public funds to implement in-service training programs to assist teachers and administrators in establishing desegregation plans.

In 1965, the Higher Education Act (HEA) (Public Law 89–329) authorizes federal aid for post­secondary students.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (Public Law 89-313) represents the federal government's commitment to providing equal access to quality education; including those children from low-income families, limited English proficiency, and other minority groups. This legislation had positive retroactive implications for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, more commonly known as HBCUs.

"The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.”

Known as the Bilingual Education Act, Title VII of ESEA (Public Law 90-247), offered federal aid to school districts to provide bilingual instruction for students with limited English speaking ability.

The Education Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-318, 86 Stat. 327) establishes the Education Division in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the National Institute of Education. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-380) - Civil Rights Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965:

"Title I: Bilingual Education Act - Authorizes appropriations for carrying out the provisions of this Act. Establishes, in the Office of Education, an Office of Bilingual Education through which the Commissioner of Education shall carry out his functions relating to bilingual education. Authorizes appropriations for school nutrition and health services, correction education services, and ethnic heritage studies centers.

Title II: Equal Educational Opportunities and the Transportation of Students: Equal Educational Opportunities Act - Provides that no state shall deny equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin by means of specified practices...

Title IV: Consolidation of Certain Education Programs: Authorizes appropriations for use in various education programs including libraries and learning resources, education for use of the metric system of measurement, gifted and talented children programs, community schools, career education, consumers' education, women's equity in education programs, and arts in education programs.

Community Schools Act - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to local educational agencies to assist in planning, establishing, expanding, and operating community education programs

Women's Educational Equity Act - Establishes the Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs and sets forth the composition of such Council. Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, and individuals for activities designed to provide educational equity for women in the United States.

Title V: Education Administration: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)- Provides that no funds shall be made available under the General Education Provisions Act to any State or local educational agency or educational institution which denies or prevents the parents of students to inspect and review all records and files regarding their children.

Title VII: National Reading Improvement Program: Authorizes the Commissioner to contract with State or local educational agencies for the carrying out by such agencies, in schools having large numbers of children with reading deficiencies, of demonstration projects involving the use of innovative methods, systems, materials, or programs which show promise of overcoming such reading deficiencies."

In 1975, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) ensured that all handicapped children (age 3-21) receive a "free, appropriate public education” designed to meet their special needs.

2.4.2 1980s

In 1984 President Reagan enacted the Education for Economic Security Act (Public Law 98-377)

In 1989 Child Development and Education Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-239) authorized appropriations to expand Head Start Programs to include child care services.

2.4.3 1990s and 2000s

In 1992 The National Commission on Time and Learning, Extension (Public Law 102–359) amending the National Education Commission on Time and Learning Act. "Revise provisions for a civic education program and educationally disadvantaged children."

In 1994 the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) (Public Law 103-382) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; amended as the The Eisenhower Professional Development Program; IASA designated Title 1 funds for low income and otherwise marginalized groups; i.e., females, minorities, individuals with disabilities, individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP)." Tethering funding distributions to student achievement, IASA meant use high stakes testing and curriculum standards to hold schools accountable for their results at the same level as other students. The Act significantly increased impact aid for the establishment of the Charter School Program, drug awareness campaigns, i.e., Safe and Drug-free schools, bilingual education, and technology.

In 1998 The Charter School Expansion Act (Public Law 105-278) amended the Charter School Program, enacted in 1994.

2001: Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001 (Public Law 106-554) appropriated funding to repair education institution facilities as well as repair and renovate charter schools. The Act also reauthorized the Even Start program and enacted the ‘‘Children’s Internet Protection Act.

2002: No Child left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110) was signed into law in 2002. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard; standards are set by each individual state.

2.4.4 Obama administration (2009-2017)

The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, enacted in 2009, reserved more than $85 billion in public funds to be used for education.

The 2009 Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association launch the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

In 2012 the Obama administration launched the Race to the Top competition aimed at spurring K–12 education reform through higher standards.

"The Race to the Top – District competition will encourage transformative change within schools, targeted toward leveraging, enhancing, and improving classroom practices and resources.

The four key areas of reform include:

• Development of rigorous standards and better assessments
• Adoption of better data systems to provide schools, teachers, and parents with information about student progress
• Support for teachers and school leaders to become more effective
• Increased emphasis and resources for the rigorous interventions needed to turn around the lowest-performing schools"

6. Social Strategies -- Added to Motivations

Education reform, in general, implies a continual effort to modify and improve the institution of education. Over time, as the needs and values of society change, attitudes towards public education change. As a social institution, education plays an integral role in the process of socialization. "Socialization is broadly composed of distinct inter- and intra-generational processes. Both involve the harmonization of an individual’s attitudes and behaviors with that of their socio-cultural milieu." Educational matrices mean to reinforce those socially acceptable informal and formal norms, values, and beliefs that individuals need to learn in order to be accepted as good, functioning, and productive members of their society. Education reform is the process of constantly renegotiating and restructuring the educational standards to reflect the ever-evolving contemporary ideals of social, economic, and political culture.Reforms can be based on bringing education into alignment with a society's core values. Reforms that attempt to change a society's core values can connect alternative education initiatives with a network of other alternative institutions.

Drafted for Live Contribution [not using]

Land grant colleges and universities are those higher education institutions that receive benefits from the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. These laws provided states with federally-controlled land and funding to establish universities and colleges focused on teaching the sciences, technology, and agriculture, an expansion of higher education's traditional focus on liberal arts.

The passage of the Second Morrill Act in 1890 gave the then-named Office of Education responsibility for administering support for the original system of land-grant colleges and universities. Vocational education became the next major area of Federal aid to schools, with the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act and the 1946 George-Barden Act focusing on agricultural, industrial, and home economics training for high school students.

"In addition to appropriating funding, the Second Morrill Act also forbade racial discrimination in admissions policies for colleges receiving these federal funds. A state could escape this provision, however, if separate institutions were maintained and the funds divided in a "just," but not necessarily equal, manner. Thus the 1890 act led to the establishment of land grant institutions for African Americans. Today there are 17 1890 institutions—including one private institution, Tuskegee University—located primarily in the southeast. In addition to being part of the land grant system, these 17 1890 schools are among the more than 100 historically black colleges and universities in the United States."

Support for public education grew, and the result was a transformation of schooling from limited provision into widespread and hierarchical educational systems to providing workers for an array of industries. "In addition, by the late nineteenth century, a number of regions opted to adopt more uniform curriculums among schools under their geographical boundaries. An industrial education association began in 1884, dedicated to professional standards, the hiring of trained teachers, and standardized instruction. With the Industrial Revolution had come gains in income and wealth during the industrial age made possible larger public expenditures for the welfare of the general population, and all governments considered schooling in their expanded social calculus.[revise]"

Civil Rights Era: (original draft) [see above for live contribution]

Ideally, American values hold Universal access to education as a fundamental human right. However, historically, access to education was widely discriminatory based on factors like income, race or ethnicity, gender, disabilities that impeded learning, and geographic location. It took many decades and the force of civil rights legislation and court decisions before universal access to public education matured into the full pursuit of equal educational opportunity for all racial, ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups, as well as for girls and children with disabilities. Processes of reform intend to fundamentally improve the quality and equitability of the academic experience by making education more accessible for all children, "particularly those whom have traditionally been excluded based on race, culture, demographics and socioeconomic factors." Modern education reform movements seek to address the biases that ensure unequal distribution of academic resources such as school funding, qualified and experienced teachers, and learning materials to those socially excluded communities.

Promoting equity for all became a preeminent mission of public schools in the mid-20th century. For most of the 20th century, most U.S. public schools operated under a system of legally sanctioned racial segregation. In the early 1950s, NAACP lawyers brought class action lawsuits on behalf of black schoolchildren and their families in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware, seeking court orders to compel school districts to let black students attend white public schools. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected that framework with Brown v. Board of Education. However, institutionalized and unconscious bias remained a formidable barrier at all levels of education When Brown v. Board of Education declared state-sponsored segregation of public schools to be unconstitutional, public schools were placed in the vanguard of ensuring equity, at times amid enormous backlash.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and subsequent federal legislation were instrumental in ensuring educational opportunity for children from low-income and minority families, children with limited English proficiency, children with disabilities, girls, and other groups. In 1994, the land grant system was expanded via the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to include tribal colleges.

For Personal Reference:

Reforming Education Legislation In America: A Modern Timeline

1954: The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) (Public Law 84-911) provided funding to United States education institutions.

1954: U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, declares the practice of racially segregating public schools unconstitutional.

1964: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (Public Law 88-352)

1965: Title I of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Public Law 89-313) creates a funding source to assist primary and secondary education schools in educating socioeconomically disadvantaged children. As mandated in the Act, the funds are authorized for professional development, instructional materials, and resources to support educational programs, and parental involvement promotion.

1965: The Higher Education Act authorizes federal aid for post­secondary students.

1967: Bilingual Education Act (or Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) (Public Law 90-247)

1969: Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1969 1972: Education Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-318)

1974: Education Amendments of 1974 (Public Law 93-380)

1975: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) ensured that all handicapped children have a free education designed to meet their special needs. 1977: Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments of 1977 (Public Law 95-112)

1978: Education Amendments of 1978 (Public Law 95-561)

1980: Congress establishes the cabinet-level U.S. Department of Education. (Public Law 96-88)

1981: Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (Public Law 97-35) consolidated 42 programs into seven programs to be funded under the elementary and secondary block grant authority.

1984: Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (Public Law 98-199). The law added the Architectural Barrier amendment and clarified participation of handicapped children in private schools. It also reauthorized the discretionary programs, established services to facilitate school to work transition through research and demonstration projects; established parent training and information centers; and provided funding for demonstration projects and research in early intervention and early childhood special education.

2009: The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act earmarks more than $90 billion for education, including the Race to the Top initiative, aimed at spurring K–12 education reform.

2009: The Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association launch the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

2015: Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) with a new focus on assessing student achievement by multiple measures.

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