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Boston Latin Grammar School was founded
This was the first public school to open in what is now the United States (Boston), making it the oldest public school in America. It is also known as Boston Latin School. This was very important because it set a precedent for public education. From the time that it was founded into the 19th century, this school admitted only male students and hired male teachers. This school was open to all boys, regardless of social class. -
Harvard University was Founded
Harvard University was founded in 1636 after a vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is the 1st higher education institute of what is now the U.S., making it the oldest college today. -
General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony passes law
This law that was passed by the General Court Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1647, stated that all towns with 50 or more families were obligated to hire a schoolmaster to teach the children to read and write. In towns of 100 or more families, the teacher had to also be able to teach Latin. This law helped to expand public schooling and schools were distributed all around the town, making it so that schools were within a mile or 2 of all children. -
Printing of the 1st New England Primer
The "New England Primer" was published by Benjamin Harris and was the first widely-used textbook in the American colonies, becoming the standard for educational textbooks. It combined the study of the Bible with the alphabet, vocabulary and reading and became the foundation for schooling before 1790. This textbook was used to educate the early colonists as well as many of the founding fathers. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This Supreme Court case combines 5 cases from different parts of the country. In this case, the Court declared that the "separate but equal" concept of segregating schools based on race, was unconstitutional. This case was important because this was the basis for ending segregation in the schools and also for the ending of segregation altogether. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The ESEA is an Act that funds primary and secondary education and provided additional resources and grants to lower-income students. This Act was passed as part of the "War on Poverty" and to this day has been noted as the most profound federal legislation regarding education that has ever been passed by the U.S. Congress. This Act also helped to close the gap between kids living in poverty and the wealthier children. -
Title IX
This Law 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.” It was established so women could get the same educational rights as men and could not be denied the ability to participate in sports. This was very important because it paved the way for gender equality in not only the school, but in America. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This Act (also known as EHA) required all public schools receiving federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical and mental disabilities. This Act helped to provide education for children who previously did not have the privilege of getting an education and created more equality in the school systems. -
No Child Left Behind Act
This is an updated version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. This law requires schools to develop evaluations of basic skills for students of all grades to help determine which schools are in need of more funding or resources. This was very important because it held the schools and teachers more accountable for the outcomes of the students and helped to aid in the success of the students to move forward. -
House Bill 178 was passed in Ohio by 130th General Assembly
Before this law passed in 2015, Ohio schools were required to just conduct 9 overall drills throughout the school year. This law made it so that instead of just conducting 9 drills of any kind, they reduced the amount of regular drills to 6 and increased safety drills from 1 to 3 (such as lockdown or evacuation). This better prepares students for many different types of emergency situations that are becoming more and more common in recent years, such as what to do if there is a school shooter.