Education Reform

Education policy in the United States refers to the federal government's regulation of and interaction with U.S. educational institutions, including public and private schools at all grade levels. The federal government has historically played a limited role in the U.S. educational system, with most regulation being left to state and local governments. However, from the mid-twentieth century onward, the federal government's role in creating and instituting national education policy increased dramatically. In addition to legislative and judicial mandate, the U.S. Department of Education, part of the executive branch, plays a large role in determining national policies concerning school curriculum, testing standards, education budgets, and many other related issues. Federal education policy primarily affects the U.S. economy by increasing access to education, creating a more skilled workforce, and augmenting state and local education funding. Proponents generally argue that a strong federal education policy ensures access to quality education to all U.S. citizens, while critics argue that education policy—especially curriculum development and funding allocation—is best implemented at the state and local levels.

The U.S. Department of Education was created in 1867 with the goal of collecting information on U.S. schools to aid states in establishing more effective educational systems. The Department of Education, however, was demoted in 1868 to a noncabinet-level government agency. Renamed the Office of Education, it was placed within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The agency's role expanded again with the passage of the Second Morrill Act (1890), which helped create a system of land-grant colleges across the nation. Some of these colleges are today among the largest and most prestigious universities in the nation, including Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Ohio State University. Arguably, the largest expansion of federal education policy occurred during World War II (1939–45), when the Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944)—better known as the G.I. Bill—was passed. The G.I Bill provided widespread access to college education to former military service members and dramatically increased the general educational level of the U.S. workforce. In 1980 a new cabinet-level Department of Education was founded under the administration of President Jimmy Carter (in office 1977–81).

Federal education policy played a critical role in the desegregation of U.S. public schools. In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court stuck down school segregation along racial lines. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, among other federal legislation, guaranteed access to education regardless of race, sex, and disability, and the Higher Education Act of 1965 provided access to education regardless of income by providing for federal student loans.

The federal government's role in setting education policy has continued to be the subject of social and economic controversy. While educational health programs administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the school lunch program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture enjoy general public support, other efforts to reform school curriculum and funding, such as No Child Left Behind (2002), initiated by President George W. Bush (in office 2001–09), and Race to the Top (2009), introduced by President Barack Obama (in office 2009–), have sparked public debate. The introduction of private industry management of public schools in the 1990s also provoked controversy.

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