Historical Events in Modern Day Public Education

  • Ye Olde Deluder Satan

    Ye Olde Deluder Satan
    New England passed the "Ye Olde Delunder Satan" law. This law set up a requirement for towns consisting of over 50 households to hire and provide a salary for a teacher to teach children how to read and write. Towns that consisted of over 100 households were required to provide a grammer school with a teacher to prepare students for university. Funding was provided through taxation or the selling of public land.
  • Board of Education

    Board of Education
    Massachusetts created the first State Board of Education. The Board appointed Horace Mann (also known as "The Father of American Education") as the first secretary of education. Under Mann's direction the movement for a free and universal education system gained a unified direction. Although the Board of Education did not have any enforcement powers, it was granted the authority to study and report educational conditions.
  • Caradial Principles Report

    Caradial Principles Report
    Because of a large surge in enrollment numbers the NEA sponsored a report documenting the need for new curriculum in high schools. This report called on schools to place more emphasis on common core topics and less focus on simply being a means to prepare a student for college. These changes are still reflected in high schools today.
  • Brown v Board of Education

    Brown v Board of Education
    This ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court held that the nations previous belief that separate education facilities could be created for minorities in America. The Court ruled unanimously that segregated facilities were "inherently unequal". This ruling paved the way to desegregation in the public school system.
  • IDEA Amendments

    IDEA Amendments
    IDEA amendments of 1997 addressed previous laws that all states had passed by 1976 dealing specifically with students with disabilities. Much like the previous court ruling in Brown v Board of Education these amendments paved the way to equal educational rights to those with mental, developmental or physical disabilities. These amendments paved the way for equal educational standards and rights.