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Head Start Program Begins
As part of Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the head start program was founded. This preschool education program for children from low-income families, narrowed the achievement gap between low-income and middle class children. It began as an eight-week summer program. Part of the "War on Poverty," the program continues to this day as the longest-running anti-poverty program in the U.S. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act is Passed
Also called Public Law 94-142, this law guaranteed a free appropriate public education to each child with a disability. The purpose of the law was to improve how children with disabilities were identified and educated, evaluate the success of these efforts, and provide due process protections for children and families. In addition, the law authorized financial incentives to enable states and localities to comply with the law. -
The Improving America's Schools Act is Signed
It. reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965 and includes reforms for Title I; increased funding for bilingual and immigrant education; and provisions for public charter schools, drop-out prevention, and educational technology. -
No Child Left Behind Act is Passed
This controversial law reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965 and replaces the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, mandates high-stakes student testing, holds schools accountable for student achievement levels, and provides penalties for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward meeting the goals of NCLB. -
Every Student Succeeds Act is Signed
President Obama joins the "too-much-testing" movement as his new plan calls for limiting "standardized testing to no more than 2% of class time". This latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act replaces No Child Left Behind and allows more state control in judging school quality.
