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Joliet Junior College is founded.
First public community college in the United States. -
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is founded.
It is charted by an act of Congress in 1906, the same year the Foundation encouraged the adoption of a standard system for equating "seat time" (the amount of time spent in a class) to high school credits. Still in use today, this system came to be called the "Carnegie Unit." -
Transportation for Students
By 1919, all states have laws providing funds for transporting children to school. -
Ruggles Street Nursery is Founded
Abigail Adams Eliot, with help from Mrs. Henry Greenleaf Pearson, establishes the Ruggles Street Nursery School in Roxbury, MA, one of the first educational nursery schools in the U.S. -
Tennessee Vs. John Scopes
Tennessee vs. John Scopes ("the Monkey Trial") captures national attention as John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, is charged with the heinous crime of teaching evolution, which is in violation of the Butler Act, The trial ends in Scopes' conviction. -
First SAT is Administered
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Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove (California) School District
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. -
Fair Labor Standards Act is Signed in to Law
Among its many provisions (which include setting a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour), the act sets a minimum age for working in non-agricultural jobs and limits the number of hours and types of employment for older children. -
National Conference Concerning Student Transportation
Frank W. Cyr, a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College, organizes a national conference on student transportation. It results in the adoption of standards for the nation's school buses, including the shade of yellow. -
The G.I. Bill of Rights is Signed
The G.I. Bil of Rights officially known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, is signed by FDR on June 22. Some 7.8 million World War II veterans take advantage of the GI Bill during the seven years benefits are offered. Because the law provides the same opportunity to every veteran, regardless of background, the long-standing tradition that a college education was only for the wealthy is broken. -
Mendez vs. Westminster and the California Board of Education
In the landmark court case, the U. S. District Court in Los Angeles rules that educating children of Mexican descent in separate facilities is unconstitutional, thus prohibiting segregation in California schools and setting an important precedent for Brown vs. Board of Education. -
79th Congress approves the National School Lunch Act
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 rules 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
On May 17th, the U.S. Supreme Court announces its decision in the case of Brown v. Board. of Education of Topeka, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," thus overturning its previous ruling in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson. -
Integration of Central High School
Federal troops enforce integration in Little Rock, Arkansas as the Little Rock 9 enroll at Central High School. -
National Defense Education Act (NDEA)
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. -
Learning Disabilities Association of America is formed.
Samuel A. Kirk uses the term "learning disability" at a Chicago conference on children with perceptual disorders. The term sticks, and in 1964, the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, now the Learning Disabilities Association of America, is formed. Today, nearly one-half of all students in the U.S. who receive special education have been identified as having learning disabilities. -
Epperson et al. v. Arkansas
In the case of Epperson et al. v. Arkansas, the U.S. supreme Court finds the state of Arkansas' law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in a public school or university is unconstitutional. -
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. -
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
The law, which reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965 and replaces the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, mandates high-stakes student testing, holds schools accountable for student achievement levels, and provides penalties for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward meeting the goals of NCLB. -
Los Angeles Educator Strike
On January 14, more than 30,000 public school teachers in the Los Angeles go on strike over class size, pay, and lack of support staff.