Understanding The Future By Knowing The Past

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
“On April 9, 1965 Congress enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (P.L. 89-10), the most expansive federal education bill ever passed.  It is significant to note the bill was enacted less than three months after it was introduced. . . This piece of legislation constituted the most important educational component of the “War on Poverty” launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Through a special source of funding (Title I), the law allocated large resources to meet the needs of educationally deprived children, especially through compensatory programs for the poor.” The Social Welfare History Project

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
Accountability for Results
H.R. 1 will result in the creation of assessments in each state that measure what children know and learn in reading and math in grades 3-8. Student progress and achievement will be measured according to tests that will be given to every child, every year.

H.R. 1 will empower parents, citizens, educators, administrators, and policymakers with data from those annual assessments. The data will be available in annual report cards on school performance and on statewide progress. They will give parents information about the quality of their children’s schools, the qualifications of teachers, and their children’s progress in key subjects.

Statewide reports will include performance data disaggregated according to race, gender, and other criteria to demonstrate not only how well students are achieving overall but also progress in closing the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and other groups of students.

These are two major pieces of legislation that led to the Race To The Top we are in today.

This legislation must be overturned before we can move towards providing ALL of America’s children an excellent education.

The language of education must also be changed so that the gifts and talents of every child are discovered, developed, and directed towards the full potential for success that exists within each of us.

Every child in America must be Constitutionally guaranteed an excellent education. Federal funding must support local public education agencies in providing an excellent education to every child.

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