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Engel vs Vitale Strikes Religion from Public School
The Supreme Court in 1962 draws a legal line between the practice of an official prayer and public school classroom teaching. This case begins the separation of church and state in the school environment, removing organized religion from public education. Parents who want their children to be educated via specific religions practices have to start looking for private school education instead for such direction. -
Civil Rights Act is Made Law
The 1964 Civil Rights Act is signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texan, forever shutting down any public agency action that would discriminate against a person on the basis of race, color, sex, religion or national origin. This becomes the pivotal federal law that enforces equal access for all in education, regardless of culture and background, at least in terms of protected classes. -
The Vietnam War and Grade Inflation
During the Vietnam War young men age 18 and older were subject to the draft (forced military service). If they were in college, they could get a deferment of service and potentially avoid the War. Grade inflation became common in colleges as professors realized the power they had to oppose the war by keeping male students in classes with higher grades than they really earned. This, in effect, created a bias favoring male students over female students in an effort to oppose the war's impact. -
Diana vs CA State Board of Education
In 1970 the California State Board of Education was challenged in court for imposing special needs student testing in an official language versus the primary language of the student. The court agreed with the plaintiff's argument and forced the Board to redesign testing to match a student's primary language. This was a key factor in aligning testing better with the communication capability of the student versus through an artificial language criteria. -
The Indian Education Act
Prior to 1972 the function of education for Native Americans was essentially under the purview of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. For decades, families had been torn apart as Native children were shipped to boarding schools to force them to acclimate to Western education standards. The Indian Education Act broke the mold for treating the Native American as a person who needed a government parent and forced education on the Native American's terms instead. -
The Rehabilitation Act
The 1973 Rehabilitation Act includes Section 504 which guarantees fair access for students with disabilities even when they don't qualify for special needs criteria or other programs. Public schools are required to provide assistance under Section 504 to insure equal access to education. -
Apple Creates the Apple IIe
While there were plenty of lumbering IBM computers, Apple is the first to make the personal computer really personal, opening the door for the computer's widespread use in education. This is a pivotal moment because it is the genesis for widespread personal computing, which eventually brings the Internet, and that in turn brings massive educational access for people of all cultures, background, economic differences and languages. -
The Tribally Controlled Community College Act
Jimmy Carter signed the 1978 Tribally Controlled Community College Act, ensuring that tribes could receive the same funding and support for community colleges on tribal lands as was provided to generic community colleges elsewhere. This added to resources made available to those on tribal lands and reservations, oftentimes too far away from generic junior college locations in town. -
The Ebonics Controversy
In 1996, in an attempt to be responsive to its student population and greater community, the Oakland School District tries to install the concept of Ebonics as a language allowed for African American students. The idea triggers a major backlash among educators and politics as to the authority of English, the introduction and genesis of new languages, and whether America would be the last of language development allowed or would participate in the creation of new dialects. -
California Passes an English-Only Language Rule
Normally considered a liberal state, in 1997 California voters passed Proposition 227 which required English-only education in the state's public schools. Many feared at the time this would trigger a national backlash against multi-culturalism in schools. The backlash never happened, but the state law survived court challenge and still stands.
