Education Act Of 1965 Essay

Introduction
Education has been one of America’s prominent topics of conversation. For the first two hundred and fifty years, education was mainly enforced by either the local communities or the religious denominations. The federal government had no control or involvement in regards to the matter of education. Federal government slowly began its involvement during the Civil War era, and increased swiftly during and following World War II, and has continued to be involved to the present day. The Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson is recognized as the first true landmark piece of legislation concerning the federal government’s involvement in public education. The Elementary and Secondary Act was the government’s
The federal government barely prescribed any funds specifically for schools or education. States usually used the federal funds whenever possible for education. At the time, the federal government focused on two main constitutional amendments in regards to public education. Firstly, the 10th amendment that stated, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Since public education clearly was not mentioned as one of the federal powers, the government delegated it to the local and state government. And secondly, the fourteenth amendment that guaranteed rights to all American citizens.
However, the federal governments’' interest in public education increased after the Civil War in 1865. In 1896, the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson allowed the practice of segregation in facilities including schools, as long as these facilities were “equal”. Another pivotal case, Brown v. Board of Education, overturned the separate but equal doctrine. It was a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court that ended legal segregation in the public schools. Chief Justice Earl Warren in his final opinion
This report served as a groundwork for shaping the legislation in the No Child Left Behind Act. Moreover, this report led to the direct enactment of Goals 2000: Educate America Act in 1994 signed by President Bill Clinton. The government was eager to reverse the downward trend in the academic performance, as evident in “Nation at Risk” report. The Act was based upon the principles of outcome-based reform and consisted eight main goals to be attained by the year 2000. The eight goals aimed at achieving higher attendance, higher graduation rate, higher school standards, improved teaching force, increased parental involvement, improved school setting by eliminating the issue of drugs, violence and firearms, and providing students with more school choices. Regardless of the pure intentions behind the Act, it could not accomplish all the promised