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Compulsory Public Education
This was the first law to require children, generally in the ages of 6-16 to attend public school. This was then reformed later in the 1940's to allow parents to choose where they would like their children to attend school, whether it be public, private, or homeschooling. This broadened the ability for children to be able to receive a public education, and began to show the importance of education for everyone in the United States. -
National School Lunch Act
This act created the National School Lunch Program. The NSLP is able to provide lost-cost meals to eligible children, and now provides free lunches to eligible students. This is another way students are provided funds and services through public education. It also has been used as a way to push for healthy eating and diets in more recent years. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This Supreme Court Case was a huge stepping stone in the civil rights movement that was prominent during this time. Brown v. Board of Education desegregated schools, although this took many years for this to actually take place in some cases. This however was still was the starting point for true desegregation in the United States. -
Engel vs. Vitale
Under the Supreme Court decision on Engel v. Vitale, prayer was officially not allowed in schools. This pushed forward the belief of the separation of church and state, predominantly in the classroom. Before this point and in some cases after this point class and school prayers were said everyday, but this case ceased a lot of this activity. This has more recently been referenced in terms to saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and may be a reference point again for issues in the future. -
Education Amendments of 1972
These amendments are best known for Title 9, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. This allowed for female athletics and other programs to begin that were not usually offered beforehand. This also made it so, that if a women's team was not offered, female students were allowed to play on the male teams. Once again, this was an equalizer in public education.
