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Percentage Of Students In School
78% percent of all American children between the ages of five and seventeen were enrolled in schools. -
Dewey's Philosophy
John Dewey's Democracy and Education, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education is published. Dewey's views help advance the ideas of the "progressive education movement." An outgrowth of the progressive political movement, progressive education seeks to make schools more effective agents of democracy. His daughter, Evelyn Dewey, coauthors Schools of To-morrow with her father, and goes on to write several books on her own. -
Transportation
All states have laws providing funds for transporting children to school. -
Great Depression
The Great Depression begins with the stock market crash in October. The U.S. economy is devastated. Public education funding suffers greatly, resulting in school closings, teacher layoffs, and lower salaries. -
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NAACP
The NAACP brings a series of suits over unequal teachers' pay for Blacks and whites in southern states. At the same time, southern states realize they are losing African American labor to the northern cities. These two sources of pressure resulted in some increase of spending on Black schools in the South. -
Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove (California) School District
Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove (California) School District becomes the first successful school desegregation court case in the United States, as the local court forbids the school district from placing Mexican-American children in a separate "Americanization" school. -
World War II
The U.S. entered World War II after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor on December 7. During the next four years, much of the country's resources go to the war effort. Education is put on the back burner as many young men quit school to enlist; schools are faced with personnel problems as teachers and other employees enlist, are drafted, or leave to work in defense plants; school construction is put on hold. -
Computer Age
The computer age begins as the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC), the first vacuum-tube computer, is built for the U.S. military by Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. -
School lunch
Recognizing "the need for a permanent legislative basis for a school lunch program," the 79th Congress approves the National School Lunch Act. -
McCollum v. Board of Education
In the case of McCollum v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that schools cannot allow "released time" during the school day which allows students to participate in religious education in their public school classrooms. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
The Supreme Court unanimously agrees that segregated schools are "inherently unequal" and must be abolished. Almost 45 years later in 1998, schools, especially in the north, are as segregated as ever. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks, a Montgomery, Alabama seamstress, refuses to give up her seat on the bus to a Caucasian passenger and is subsequently arrested and fined. The Montgomery bus boycott follows, giving impetus to the Civil Rights Movement. A year later, in the case of Browder v. Gale, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated seating on buses is unconstitutional. -
Sputnik
At least partially because of Sputnik, science and science education become important concerns in the U.S., resulting in the passage of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) which authorizes increased funding for scientific research as well as science, mathematics, and foreign language education. -
ACT
The ACT Test is first administered -
School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett
In the cases of School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett, the U. S. Supreme Court reaffirms Engel v. Vitale by ruling that "no state law or school board may require that passages from the Bible be read or that the Lord's Prayer be recited in public schools . . . even if individual students may be excused from attending or participating . . ." -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Pennsylvania
In the case of Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Pennsylvania, the federal court rules that students with mental retardation are entitled to a free public education. -
New Jersey v. TLO
In the Case of New Jersey v. TLO, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that reasonable searches of students on school grounds do not violate their Fourth Amendment rights. -
Smart Board
The smart board (interactive white board) is introduced by SMART Technologies. -
Columbine
On April 20th, two Columbine High School students go on a killing spree that left 15 dead and 23 wounded at the Littleton, Colorado school, making it the nations' deadliest school shooting incident. Though schools tighten safety procedures as a result of the Columbine massacre, school shootings continue to occur at an alarming rate. -
Transgender Student Equality
On May 13, the federal government tells school districts "to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity." Though the directive is not a law, districts that do not comply could face lawsuits or lose federal aid.
