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MA: Education rooted in religion
Puritan settlers in Massachusetts Bay Colony who fled England to seek religious freedom were provided elementary schools with the aim to educate them to be able to read the Bible and to learn of the Calvinist (John Calvin) beliefs. In 1647, the General Court established that towns with certain number of families would have:
- fifty families an elementary school
- 100+ families a Latin school
Ironically, the very reason for leaving England became the basis of education in the new world. -
VA: Gov. Thomas Jefferson, Public education and tracks
As Governor of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson proposed A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge. In general the goal was to provide free public education for all to build a population of individuals who were literate citizens for their stability and as contributors to society. The plan also placed individuals into an academic or vocational track based on their potential. Those who showed academic promise had opportunities for scholarship in college which provided advantages. -
Northwest Territory: Land grants
Before Ohio became a state, the Continental Congress aimed to establish townships to develop and provide education for for settlers moving Westward - beyond the Appalachian mountains. The plan surveyed land, divided it up and sold it, despite it being owned by Native Americans. -
PA, free public schools
Dr. Benjamin Rush, advocated for education, including women and other human rights such as abolition of slavery. Rush proposed public school system in PA and expanded the idea into a national system as well. -
NY: Lancasterian schools
Governor DeWitt Clinton formed the New York Free School Society to provide education for students due to burgeoning immigration with the goal of supporting growth of a civil society. Based on Joseph Lancaster's school model which began in 1789, the program has older students educating younger children. It was non-denominational and relied on funds from philanthropy. The program we successful until it became economically challenged and it changed in 1825 to the New York Free School Society. -
MA: free Boston Public Schools established
Though Massachusetts first formed schools beginning in 1647, it took almost 170 years, in 1817 when a petition passed to establish free public schools at the expense of (often oppositional) taxpayers. In 1820, the first public high school was opened to students. In 1827, MA passed a law for all students to have the right to public education. Later, in 1851 MA became the first state to mandate compulsory education for all immigrant youth in efforts to maintain civilized society. -
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CA: Opposition and violation of rights, Spanish language evolution
- 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
- 1905 US Supreme Court requires CA to provide public education for Chinese immigrants children
- 1994 Prop 187: "illegal for children of undocumented immigrants to attend school"
- 1996: Prof 209 passed to outlaws affirmative action and inspires a national trend for other states hoping to make it federal law.
- 1998 California Proposition 227: breaks the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, no Spanish speaking in schools
- 2016 Repeal of CA Proposition 227
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Southwest: Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
The treaty between Mexico and the United States resulted in the end of the war and major ceding of land from Mexico to the US. Nicholas Trist negotiated the treaty which originally guaranteed citizenship and the use of Spanish in education for students as well as legal protection against segregation. -
Native American language in schools, Congress prohibits
In 1864, Congress made it illegal for Native Americans to use their native language to learn. The government forcibly removed children, as young as four years old, shaved their heads and sent them to boarding schools to "properly" educate them. Over 60 years later, in 1924 Congress "permitted" Native Americans to become United States citizens. Finally, in the1980's, the Federal Tribal Act established community college on every Native reservation for free education for their population. -
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The South: African-American's right to education
1865-1877 After the Civil War, African-American's in the Southern states worked with white Republicans to allow free public education for Black children.
1930-1950 African-American families had begin migrating North for better education and employment. Local business realize the labor force is depleting. Legislation increases funding for teacher pay and Black schools.
1950's to 1970's The Civil Rights movement breaks down segregation and impacts the institution of education for Black students. -
14th Amendment Ratification
The 14th Amendment establishes education as a fundamental right to all. It requires that no child be denied an education. -
International: Ban of Sign Language for the deaf in schools
International Congress on Education of the Deaf,
Milan, Italy
A heavily biased board voted to ban the use of signed language in teaching deaf students in schools. Proponents for oralism and audism voted with little input or representation from those who endorse manual systems. Misinformed and uneducated eugenicists believed they were protecting society. While there were still deaf schools, in the United States, the ban affected the education, rights, and lives of deaf for over 100 years. -
LA: Plessy V Ferguson
Era: Reconstruction
Related to: Civil Rights Act 1975
Location: Louisiana
Outcome: "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races." -
KS: Brown v Board of Education, Topeka
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren ruled
"State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional." This mandate clarified that racially segregated schools were not equal. This massive ruling began breaking down the barriers and led to the Civil Rights Act and drastic changes during the next 20+ years. -
AK: Little Rock Nine
Three years after Ruby Bridges' infamous steps into a white school blazed a new trail in banishing segregated education, nine high school students in Little Rock Arkansas held their heads high and walked into Central High to begin owning their right to education. The desegregation of public schools across the United States took more than a decade and was still challenging and dangerous for students in the 1970's and beyond. -
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ESEA -> NCLB -> ESSA
Ongoing efforts to support students education, access, opportunity and attainment.
1965: Elementary and Secondary Education Act
2002: No Child Left Behind
2015: Every Student Succeeds Act -
Title VII Bilingual Education Act
The Bilingual Education Act (BEA) was signed by President Lyndon Johnson to provide federal funding to support students whose native language was not English. -
Title IX
Title IX provides: 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. -
CA: Lau v. Nichols
Chinese students in San Francisco who did not speak English were not provided support to enable them to learn. Related to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Technically began in 1970 with the Education of All Handicapped children, the IDEA Act establishes rights for students with disabilities to have access to evaluations, accommodations, support and services - it ensures the right to education regardless of the severity or nature of the disability. -
TX: Plyer v. Doe
The Supreme Court ruled that an individuals' immigration status cannot be used against them to deny enrollment in schools. Children are required to have equal access to education regardless of their or their parent's documentation. Several states have tried to get around this ruling: California, Illinois and Alabama. It is known as the Equal Protection Clause. “No State shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” -
NY: Board of Education v. Rowley
The Education of the Handicapped Act (1982) requires public schools or programs that receive federal funds must provide "free appropriate public education" access, basic accommodations and services for students to learn but it did not require for maximizing a student's potential. This was based on Amy Rowley, a deaf student's need for an interpreter. It was the precursor for the 1990 IDEA act and the protection as outlined in Individualized Education Plans (IEP).