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The First School in America
The Boston Latin School was established in 1635. This school was boy-only school primarily for college preparation. Taught Latin and Greek and was centered around humanities. Still a functional school now. -
Old Deluder Satan Act of 1647
Massachusetts passed this act laying the basis of public education in America. Puritans valued high level literacy. Their goal was to have individuals be able to read and interpret the Bible for themselves. Therefore, every town of fifty families should have an elementary school. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson ruled that racial segregation didn't violate any laws as long as both facilities for each race were equal in quality. Homer Plessy, who is 1/8th black boarded a whites only car and was asked to move to the blacks only car. He refused and was arrested. He fought his case and lost. This meant racial segregation was protected by the federal government as long as it was "equal". -
Brown v. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court rules racial segregation is public schools unconstitutional. Partially overruled their decision in Plessy v. Ferguson with a 9-0 decision, which was huge step from their previous 5-4 decision. This paved the way for racial integration and is the reason our schools are diverse. -
Little Rock Nine
The implementation of integration in public schools began in September 1957 for Little Rock Central High School. Orval Faubus, the governor of Arkansas sends the national guard to prevent nine African American students from enrolling into the school. President Eisenhower issued an order for the National Guard to support the integration. This was a very big deal because although many people were against school integration, it was now a law and it must be protected. -
PARC v. Commonwealth
Prior to this case, Pennsylvania law allowed schools to deny admission to students with cognitive disabilities. This law was deemed unconstitutional. Schools were to provide adequate education for a students learning abilities. This was a huge win for disabled students and their rights to education. -
Title IX
Title IX is a law that is a part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that are funded by the federal government. This law was enacted to follow-up the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and fill its holes. Specifically discrimination of people in educational institutions. -
Lau v. Nichols
Lau and other students of Chinese descent who weren't English speakers and didn't receive supplemental English courses brought a class action suit against their school district. They claimed the lack of of supplemental English instruction for students with limited English proficiency violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They lost and therefore took it to the U.S. Supreme Court who sided with them unanimously. This case paved the way for the future of bilingual education. -
Education of all Handicapped Children Act
Enacted by the United States Congress in 1975. This law required all public schools to provide equal access to education and a free meal to students with physical/mental disabilities. The school and parents would now be able to work together to create an education that emulates the experience of a non-disabled student. This act was a huge step into providing a good education to disabled students. -
Plyler v. Doe
In 1975 a Texas school district prohibited the use of state funds for the education of students not legally admitted into the U.S. In 1977, they also required students not born in the U.S. to pay tuition to make up for lost funds. The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional with a 5-4 majority vote. This made it so undocumented K-12 students would also have the same rights as those who were born in the U.S. -
Chipman v. Grant County School District
Female high school students who were mothers were denied admission to their school's National Honor Society. NHS argued that this was due to the students' character. The court ruled that they had violated Title IX and pregnant woman were not to be discriminated. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The law was proposed by former President George W. Bush. The main focus of this law is to close student achievement gaps. It supported standardized testing on the idea that setting high standards and having measurable goals could improve a students scores. The government wanted to hold schools accountable is students didn't meet a certain average score. This law is detrimental and measures success through standardized testing.
