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First Education Law
In 1642, the Massachusetts General court ordered that the parents or guardians of children must make sure that their children are able to read and understand the laws and religion of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This is the first time in America that the government stepped in to ensure that the children were getting some form of education. -
Benjamin Franklin founds Private Academy
In 1749, Benjamin Franklin opened his Private Academy in Philadelphia. His Private Academy was basically a High School which offered a curriculum in a wide variety of subjects. Many such academies existed by the 1800s. They were eventually replaced by government funded high schools, although some continued to operate catering to wealthy families. -
American School for the Deaf
In 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut, the first school in America specifically for hearing and vocally impaired individuals opens. This school is the first of its kind in America. It follows the same format established by the Liverpool Blind School in Liverpool, England. These are the first schools that are established to teach handicapped individuals. -
First Public High School in Boston, Massachusetts
The first government owned and operated High School in the United States opens its doors in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the first public school funded by the government. Prior to its opening, children would go to schools that were privately owned and funded. By being funded by the government, this allowed the government to set what was taught, and how the teachers were trained. -
Hartford Female Seminary
On 18 May 1823, the Hartford Female Seminary opened its doors in Hartford, Connecticut. It was founded by Catherine Beecher. This was the second major seminary opened to women to teach them how to become mothers and teachers. This was a finishing school to help prepare women for a successful social life, and ultimately enter into the role of a teacher. -
Bible should be used as a text book
A letter that was written by Dr Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, is published on this date (madams15, 2012, timeline). In the letter he states that he believes that the Bible should be used as a text book in schools. He believes stated "The Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world." -
Vidal v. Girard
Stephen Girard passed away in December 1831. In his will he stated he want to create a college for impoverished white male orphans, but there was not allowed to be any clergymen of any denomination allowed on the grounds of the college. His heirs sued stating that it violated the laws of Philadelphia by excluding religious personnel. The Supreme Court thought otherwise, stating that Girard wanted the students to remain free of religious controversy, but he was not excluding Christianity. -
Creation of Department of Education
In 1867 the United States Government created the Department of Education. It was established to collect information on schools and teaching so that they would be able to establish a better school system. Their goal was to be able to learn how teachers needed to be trained to make them more effective. By making the teachers more effective, the school systems would in term become more effective. -
Committee of Ten
The Committee of Ten was established in 1892 by the National Education Association to establish a standard curriculum for education. The committee was chaired by the president of Harvard University, Charles Eliot. The recommendation that the committee made was that every child should have eight years of elementary education and four years of secondary education (high school). -
Compulsory Education in the United States
Once again following the lead of England, in 1918 the United States determines that educating children with disabilities is the law of the land. This followed the "normal" child movement of the turn of the century that pushed for this type of education. Now children would receive a normal education even if they were handicapped. -
Education Programs on the Radio
In 1920, the Department of Commerce tasked its Radio Division to create educational channels for the children of the country. It was thought that this would get children to want to listen to educational programs when they were not in school. By doing this, it would allow children to receive additional instruction while not in the class room. -
McCollum v. Board of Education
In Chicago Illinois, the Board of Education was allowing the teaching of religious classes in the public schools. The school system was sued by a student's parents who thought that this violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The case first went to the Illinois Supreme Court and then to the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court decided that the religious classes did violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. -
Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction
In 1949 Ralph W. Tyler wrote the book Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. It asked four questions which are the foundation of school curriculums today. He asked "What educational purposes should the school seek to attain? What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes? How can these educational experiences be effectively organized? How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?" -
Murray v. Curlett
William Murray and his son were atheists and challenged a Baltimore School Board rule that required that a verse from the Bible be read each day before class. In an 8-1 ruling the Supreme Court decided that the reading of the Bible and the saying of the Lord's Prayer in school violated the Establishment Clause. After this ruling the reading of the Bible and the Lord's Prayer were banned from schools. -
End of Segregation
On October 29th, 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that all school districts in the United States much end segregation. Anti-integrationists tried to use the court system to delay the end of segregation, but their defeat came when the Supreme Court ruled that Mississippi must end segregation immediately. This was a major victory for civil rights. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Also known as IDEA, this act was passed by Congress in 1975. It came on the heels of legislation passed by 30 other states that guaranteed education for children with disabilities. Prior to this legislation, most children with disabilities were denied the ability to participate in public education. The federal legislation made it possible to use federal funds to support state and local schools to help educate children with disabilities. -
Department of Education get Presidential Cabinet Seat
In 1980 Congress established that the Department of Education would have a seat on the President's cabinet. This would allow the Department of Education to be able to better inform the President on issues of the education system. It also allows the Department of Education to be able to better get funding for education programs, grants, and loans. -
Computers in the Classroom
Computers did not start to appear in the classroom until the 1980s. Before then they had been too bulky and too expensive for school systems to purchase. With the advent of the Apple Computer and the PC by IBM, they became small enough and cheap enough that schools were able to start purchasing them. By 1986 over 25% of the high schools in the United States were using computers in the classroom. -
Educate America Act
On 31 March 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Educate America Act. The purpose of the act was to ensure that states and communities had the resources available to ensure that all students were able to reach their full potential. It also established many goals that the education system in the United States would achieve by the year 2000. -
No Child Left Behind Act
In 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the "No Child Left Behind Act". This act sought to rectify the problem of low performing public schools. It offered children attending these low performing public schools the opportunity to transfer to a better public school. This was meant to solve the problem of children not learning basic skills such as reading and writing. Estimates at the time that out of 45 million high school seniors, 10 million of them could not read at a basic level.
