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First Public School
Opened in Boston Massachusetts, this was the first place for free public education. It was a secondary school led by Philemon Pormont. This school was for all boys and was strictly focused on preparing students for college. -
Young Ladies Academy of Philadelphia
The Young Ladies Academy was founded by John Poor and is considered the first instituion created for women's higher education. This set the tone for women’s education. When the academy opened the girls were taught reading, spelling, math, and geography. -
Compulsory Attendance Act
This was the first law that controlled school attendance of children and enacted fines for truancy. Students who were between the ages of eight to fourteen were required to attend school at least 3 months a year, and they had to attend at least six consecutive weeks of school. If parents refused or didn't send their kids to school, they could be fined or have their parental rights taken from them. -
Creation of the Department of Education
The Department of Education was formed to help states establish effective school systems. It did this by collecting information from different schools and teachings to help provide solutions to issues. The Department of Education still supports schools teaching students from kindergarten through postgraduate school by funding several different education programs. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
This U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that it was constitutional to continue racial segregation of the public facilities as long as the facilities for each race were equal. This became known as the "separate but equal" doctrine. This ruling meant that it was legal for schools to be separated by race as long as the quality of the schools were the same. -
National Lunch Act
This act was created to provide students from low-income families with a free or reduced-cost lunch. This is important to education because it contributes to the health and wellness of students. This also gives students and families of low incomes one less thing to worry about. -
Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka
This Supreme Court case ruled that it is unconstitutional to segregate public schools based on the race of students. This was a driving force in the Civil Rights Movement. It changed education because schools were no longer allowed to reject students based on their race. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This act provided elementary and secondary schools with federal funding for several reasons including funding instructional materials, resources for programs, professional development, and parental involvement programs. This act had a major goal of equal access to education by providing funds to schools to support students who come from impoverished families. This act has been amended several times, one example of an amendment is the No Child Left Behind Act. -
Education Amendments of 1972 / Title IX
The Education Amendments of 1972 are amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The most well-known part of the amendments is Title IX, which made it illegal for any school or education program that receives federal aid to discriminate against anyone on the basis of their sex. This amendment makes it so that women and men should be treated as equals in the school system and have the same access to scholarships, financial aid, athletics, health benefits, and other benefits. -
No Child Left Behind Act
This law requires states to develop a set of academic standards and a system to test students to determine if they are achieving the standards. The No Child Left Behind Act aims to ensure that all children have the same access to high-quality education and close achievement gaps among students.
