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Federal Involvement In Public Education

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The word education is absent from the U.S. Constitution. Based on this fact, how is Federal involvement in public education justified?
Our country was founded on the basis of having religious and political freedom. The colonists did not want to have a controlling central power of government. Therefore, our country was founded under the federal system where power was divided between the federal, state, and local governing bodies. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution gave the responsibility of providing public education to the individual states and the people because education was not one of the powers delegated by the Constitution. The Federal Government did not have the authority to control or run the public educational system. However, …show more content…

a. Land Ordinances of 1785- The Northwest Ordinance of 1785 gave land section 16 of every township to provide public schools. These ordinances gave incentives for settling land and were the first acts of federal aid to education.
b. Morrill Act of 1862- This act provided land grants to establish universities in the newly formed states to promote the teaching of agriculture and applied science and improve farming practices.
c. Smith-Hughes Act 1917- After entering WWI, the U.S. needed citizens with more industrial skills to aid with the war effort. This act provided funds for several vocational education programs to develop those needed skills and remove job skill training from apprenticeship programs run by trade unions.
d. National Defense Education Act 1958- After Russia sent Sputnik to space, the U.S. became fearful of spying and Soviet control. The NDEA was passed to provide funding for math, science, foreign language, and counseling …show more content…

Rehabilitation Act 1973- This act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs run by federal agencies and programs that receive federal financial assistance. Specifically in this act is Section 504, which was the first civil rights legislation to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination based on their disability. The nondiscrimination requirements of the law apply to employers and organizations that receive federal financial assistance. This statute was intended to prevent intentional or unintentional discrimination due to a person's disability.
h. Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment)- As part of the Family Educational and Privacy Act, the Buckley Amendment provides parents the right to challenge and request changes to information in their child's education records that they feel may be misleading, inaccurate, or inappropriate. Schools must follow certain protocol when handling and disseminating student records and personal information.
i. Education for All Handicapped Children Act 1975- This act requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual needs. This act required public school systems to create Individualized Education Programs (IEP's) for each child. The specific curriculum and services identified in each IEP should reflect the individualized needs of the

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