Mae 5040 - Contemporary Issues in Education

MAE 5040

Contemporary Issues in Education

Elizabeth Akin Jaworski

Summer 2016

The Elementary and Secondary Educational Act of 1965 was passed as a part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” and has been the most influential federal legislation affecting education ever passed by the United States Congress.  This act focuses on equal access to education, establishes high standards and accountability.  It is the basis for federal funding for primary and secondary education.  The federal funds provided are to be used for professional development, instructional materials, parental involvement promotion and resources to support educational programs.  This act was originally put in place in 1965 but has been reauthorized by the government every five years since its enactment.  George W. Bush reauthorized the act – the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001”, and President Obama reauthorized the act in 2015, known as “Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.”  (Dynarski)

        Lyndon B. Johnson pushed for Congressional action to improve educational opportunities for American children on January 12, 1965.  The Johnson administration urged giving local school districts opportunities to use the new federal funds.  The funds were first issued to each state as grants.  Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 into law on April 19, 1965.  (Wikipedia, 1)

        The original Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 consisted of seven sections:  Title 1 – Financial Assistance to Local Educational Agencies for the Education of children of low-income families, Title II – School library resources, textbooks, and other instructional materials, Title III – Supplementary Educational services and centers, Title IV – Educational research and training,

Title V – Grants to strengthen state departments of education, Title VI – General provisions, Title VI (later to become Title VII) – Aid to handicapped children, Title VII (later to become Title VIII) – Bilingual education programs.  

        Title I was originally drafted to bridge the skill gap in reading, writing and math between children in low-income families who attend urban or rural school systems and children from middle=class families who attend suburban school systems.  Student achievement has been found to decrease as poverty increases.  “According to the United States Department of Education (USDOE), students from low-income households are “three times as likely to be low achievers if they attend high poverty schools as compared to low-poverty schools.”  Title I was put in place to compensate for these educational deprivations.

Title I has changed drastically over the years.  The program was reauthorized every three years for the first fifteen years.  The focus was on how the funds were to be allocated.   Strict rules and regulations were placed in order to ensure the funds were solely for students in need.  During this time, punitive actions for those who were out of regulation were also outlined.  In 1978, it was determined that schools with 75% poverty rate would be allocated funds instead of individual children.  In 1980, during the Reagan administration, Congress passed an act to reduce federal regulations of Title I.  This act placed the control of fund disbursement in the hands of each state.  In 1988, The Hawkins- Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Act re-focused Title I on school improvement and excellent programs.  This act raised the achievement standard for low-income students by requiring advanced skills to be taught rather than basic skills.  This act also increased parental involvement.

President George W. Bush placed the No Child Left Behind Act in place.  This act was another revision of the Elementary and Secondary Educational Act of 1965.  This revision increased accountability for schools, students and teachers.  Yearly standardized test were mandated in order to assess how schools were performing. Schools were required to produce annual report cards that detailed student achievement data and demographics.  Schools that were not performing and making Adequate Yearly Progress would be subject to punitive measures and corrective actions.  Teachers were required to be highly qualified and schools that did not meet Adequate Yearly progress for three years in a row after being identified for improvement, were required to plan for restructuring.  Under No Child Left Behind, Title I funds were given to schools where at least 35% of children come from low-income families. Title I funds are received by more than 50% of all public schools.