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First Public Community College
Joliet Junior College, in Joliet, Illinois, opens. It is the first public community college in the U.S. -
Education for everyone
Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American educator, founds an Educational Training School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida which becomes a coeducational high school leading into Bethune-Cookman College, now Bethune-Cookman University. -
First Female Superintendent
Educator Ella Flagg Young becomes superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools, a large city school system. A year later she is elected president of the National Education Association. -
The SAT
The Scholastic Aptitude Test is first administered. It is based on the Army Alpha test. -
The Great Depression
The U.S. economy is devastated. Public education funding suffers greatly, resulting in school closings, teacher layoffs, and lower salaries. -
The U.S. enters World War II
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. -
Computers begin
The Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, the first vacuum-tube computer, is built for the U.S. military by Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. -
School lunch program
Recognizing "the need for a permanent legislative basis for a school lunch program," the 79th Congress approves the National School Lunch Act -
Brown v. Board. of Education
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," -
The Civil Rights Act
Essentially a voting-rights bill, it is the first civil rights legislation since reconstruction and is a precursor to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 -
The ACT
The ACT Test is first administered. -
Segregation coming to an end
First grader Ruby Bridges is the first African American to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. She becomes a class of one as parents remove all Caucasian students from the school. -
President Kennedy Assassination
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Schools close as the nation mourns its loss. -
First bilingual and bicultural public school in the United States.
Large number of Cuban immigrant children arriving in Miami, Coral Way Elementary School after the Cuban Revolution. -
The Civil Rights Act Law
The Civil Rights Act becomes law. It prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin. -
Higher Education Act
In Southwest Texas State College on November 8, federal aid increases to aim towards higher education and provides for scholarships, student loans, and establishes a National Teachers Corps. -
Equality of Educational Opportunity
African American children benefit from attending integrated schools sets the stage for school "busing" to achieve desegregation. -
Milliken v. Bradley
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that outside suburbs were not responsible for segregation within the Detroit city schools, therefore busing of students from Detroit to suburban schools was not required by law. -
Homeschooling movement.
John Holt's book, Teach Your Own: A Hopeful Path for Education, adds momentum to the homeschooling movement. -
Technical Education Act
Passed with the goal of increasing the quality of vocational-technical education in the U.S. It is reauthorized in 1998 and again in 2006 as the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (PL 109-270). -
Online campus established
The University of Phoenix establishes their "online campus," the first to offer online bachelor's and master's degrees. It becomes the "largest private university in North America." -
Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA becomes law, essentially a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities in all areas, including education. -
Education staters
Georgia becomes the first state to offer universal preschool to all four year olds whose parents choose to enroll them. More than half of the state's four year olds are now enrolled. -
Preschool
New York follows Georgia's lead and passes legislation that will phase in voluntary pre-kindergarten classes over a four-year period. -
Report Cards
The Higher Education Act is amended and reauthorized requiring institutions and states to produce "report cards" about teacher education. -
School shooting incident
On April 20th, two Columbine High School students go on a killing spree that leaves 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. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The law 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. -
Largest mass closing in U.S. history
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS officials claim the closures are not only necessary to reduce costs, but will also improve educational quality. However, Chicago teachers and other opponents say the closures disproportionately affect low-income and minority students. -
First budget to be agreed
President Barack Obama signs the 1.1-trillion dollar bipartisan budget bill on January 17. The bill restores some, but not all, of the cuts to federal education programs that resulted from sequestration. -
Standardized testing
President Obama joins the "too-much-testing" movement as his new plan calls for limiting "standardized testing to no more than 2% of class time." -
Student Protest
Thousands of students across the nation walk out of classrooms on March 14 demanding changes in gun laws. -
Teacher Protest
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. Teachers return to work after a deal is reached ending their six-day strike.
