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1647
he General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony decrees that every town of fifty families should have an elementary school and that every town of 100 families should have a Latin school. This ensures that Puritan children learn to read the Bible and learn about their Calvinist religion -
1790
Pennsylvania state constitution calls for free public education but only for poor children. Rich people are still expected to pay for their children's schooling. -
First High school
First public high school opens up in US Boston English. -
Free Education for all!
Massachusetts passes a law making all grades of public school open to all students free of charge -
Education and slavery
Most southern states have laws forbidding teaching people in slavery to read. However, around 5 percent are literate but at great personal risk -
Education and juvenile justice systems
Massachusetts Reform School at Westboro opens, where children who have refused to attend public schools are sent. This begins a long tradition of "reform schools," which combine the education and juvenile justice systems. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson decision. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the state of Louisiana has the right to require "separate but equal" railroad cars for Blacks and whites. Segregation is seen as legal. -
Education for Chinese People
The U.S. Supreme Court requires California to extend public education to the children of Chinese immigrants -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Supreme Court unanimously agrees that segregated schools are "inherently unequal" and must be abolished. Almost 45 years later in 1998, schools, especially in the north, are as segregated as ever -
Little Rock
A federal court orders integration of Little Rock, Arkansas public schools. Governor Orval Faubus sends his National Guard to physically prevent nine African American students from enrolling at all-white Central High School. -
Title IX
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. -
Education of all Handicapped children's act
Known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), this act requires all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical and mental disabilities -
Community College and Native Americans
The federal Tribal Colleges Act establishes a community college on every Indian reservation, which allows young people to go to college without leaving their families -
Pyler v. Doe
This was a decision that states cannot constitutionally deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status. -
Prop 187
Proposition 187 passes in California, making it illegal for children of undocumented immigrants to attend public school. Federal courts hold Proposition 187 unconstitutional, but anti-immigrant feeling spreads across the country
