History of Education

  • First Public School

    First Public School
    In 1635, the first public school opened in Massachusetts. The school was called the Boston Latin School and was an all boys school. A Puritan settler founded the school and it taught grades 7-12.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson
    After refusing to sit in a train car for blacks, Plessy went to the Supreme Court with the claim that his constitutional rights were violated, so they made the Seperate but Equal doctrine. This promoted that everything the whites and blacks did was equal, but seperate at the same time.
  • Free Public Schools

    Free Public Schools
    All kids are now required to go to school through elementary grade level
  • Pierce v. Society of Sisters

    Pierce v. Society of Sisters
    Children can no longer be forced to attend public schools. They can also attend private schools as well.
  • School Lunch

    School Lunch
    The National School Lunch Program is created for public schools to provide low cost or free school lunches to children everyday.
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    African American students were poorly treated and segregation was horrible in public schools. Although there was the Separate but Equal doctrine, there was not a lot of equality.
  • Prayer is Banned

    Prayer is Banned
    In New York, they authorized prayer at the start of each school day. The state did not have that authorization
  • Title IX

    Title IX
    This stated that "No person in the United States should be discriminated in any way because of their sex. This gave equal rights to women in many activities.
  • "A Nation at Risk"

    "A Nation at Risk"
    President Ronald Reagan questioned the education system and declared our nation at risk. American schools were high in underperformance. This was a turning point in America's education.
  • No Child Left Behind

    No Child Left Behind
    The No Child Left Behind law gave money for educational assistance for poor children, under the condition that they improved in their academics.