Why Schools Should Be Controlled By State And Federal Level

Although the balance of power between the national government and the states has changed over the years, the federalist system is a fundamental part of the U.S. government (The White House, 2013). The states sponsor important programs to fund education, help troubled cities and provide social services. At the local level, the municipalities control a number of other services and regulations, but never fail to be in collaboration between the national, state and local governments. The constitution was put into place to support and defend the basic right of civilians of the United States (Marchant, 2003). Although the Constitution does not refer to education, operation and management of schools is made, particularly with respect to amendments to protect individual rights of students, faculty and staff. With these set laws into place to hold our country

Even though the Declaration of Independence does not mention education, our founding fathers did value education. Illustrated by the ordinances they passed “in 1785 and 1787 that granted federal lands to states to create and support public school- an institution that the nation’s founders viewed as essential to democracy and national unification.” (Jennings, p3) In 1959, the admission of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union reconfirmed the Federal government’s support of education. Three distinct elements that impact education are; laws that have been passed, the removal of the church from public schools, and the role of federal government that has evolved and changed over the years. These three factors have transformed education over the

Education is the foundation to secure an individual in having a better future and a successful career in life. Public education primarily falls upon the state and local government to take charge of, which get divided up into local school districts that are managed by school boards. School boards are “ an elected body corporate which manages delegated powers in regards to the deliver of education service within a defined territory (Duhaime’s Law Dictionary)”. Each state “has its own department of education and laws regulating finance, the hiring of school personnel, student attendance, and curriculum (Corsi-Bunker, Antonella).

Education is the key to our future and that is why it is such an important subject in the United States. Education relates to federalism by interacting with the national government, state governments, and local governments. Each level of government is responsible for improving education within their limits of power.

Consider each of the local sources of income that support school districts. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each in relation to equity, yield, and taxpayer acceptance?

Indirectly, or directly, one can argue, public schools are controlled by the federal and state governments. Several issues have emerged, because of the conflict between federal and state requirements for education. “Under the Tenth Amendment, any authority not given specifically to the federal government is reserved to the states. Thus, the federal government has no authority to regulate education directly; that belongs to the states” (Underwood, n. d., p. 2). To get around this, the federal government controls the schools through funds for complying with certain initiatives, procedures, and policies (Underwood, n. d.). Ironically, both the state and federal levels of government hold the district liable for implementing different agendas and legal obligations. The federal government, however, can ensure that no citizen is denied their rights or privileges, even in a private institution, because of the Bill of Rights and other amendments. Failure to comply by these amendments or statutes can lead to the loss of federal funding and legal reproductions for schools.

“Why should schooling change at every state border?”, was written by the Deputy Principal of Narrenwood Secondary College, Stephen Buckle, in response to the proposal for a national curriculum. Using a well judged tone, Buckle argues that Australia needs to have a “common curriculum” in order to achieve unity across the country as Australians are “one people”. Opposing this proposal an anonymous writer of, “A single curriculum is not the answer” published in The Age contends in a dubious tone that a “Canberra-controlled curriculum” does not support independence. A cartoon by Job also responds to the issue of whether Australia should have a single national school curriculum and is condemning of the idea. Throughout the three different articles there is a range of different tones used in order to create different perspectives on the issue according to the audience of the pieces which is aimed commonly at people involved in the education system as well the parents of the children mentioned.

Since the early millennium there has been a call for public school reform. Whether it was a reformation in school funding and where to spend it, there was a need for it nationally. How would it be determined which school district would get the majority of the funding or would it come down to equal funding for all districts. States determine the amount of spending due to many factors such population, the size of the class and also the demographics. According to Mike Maciag on Governing.com, New York is spending more than $20,000 per student each year, counting teacher salaries, but Idaho and Ohio spend about one-third as much. Teachers with additional education and experience see better results in smaller states with less spending per student than those who spent a major amount per student. Additional factors that are listed on governing.com that contribute to state education spending were employee benefits. Benefits include pensions, health insurance and tuition reimbursements (Maciag). Rural areas with a higher populations drive up costs for transportation. Florida’s spending is under the national average but is high in education

Issues: (1) Does Kentucky’s General Assembly provide a proper and adequate education for all children of the commonwealth? (2) Does the General Assembly ensure Kentucky’s school system adheres to the constitutional mandates of Section 183? (3) Do the Minimum Foundation and Power Equalization Programs equally distribute financial resources to all districts throughout the state? (4) Does Kentucky’s school systems meet Section 183’s standard or efficiency?

What is the role of public schools? Who should be governing public schools? This paper will address each side of these educational issues as well as offer a position statement and an action plan.

States have to exercise their due diligence and responsibility to plan for and deliver a system of free, public education. States also have the duty to balance funding based on local school systems fiscal capacity to pay for educational programs. The State of Georgia’s Constitution specifically states that the provision of an adequate public education for the citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia. Public education for the citizens prior to the college or postsecondary level shall be free and shall be provided for by taxation. The expense of other public education shall be provided for in such manner and in such amount as may be provided by law (Ga. Const. art. VIII, pt. I). According to the Structure of School Finance overview, although education is a state task, virtually every state, has delegated the school systems’ operation to the local school systems. The states simply maintain an overseer and compliance function in the local school

Two ways of politically choosing control in schools are through voting for representatives in the federal and state governments that legislate education polices, the other is voting for local school boards

Who should be in control of ours school? Unions? School boards? The government? Everybody want access to our schools and make the changes that they think is better. Better for who? Students, teacher, or themselves? Is it a real compromise from the state and federal government of having control of our schools? Having local control is working best for our students? Are the people in these positions working for the best of our country or there are a conflict of interest? According to Bergmann (2010), “preparing our students to compete in a global economy, bridging the achievement gap, bringing classrooms into 21st Century Learning, and keeping quality teachers in the classroom are complex issues with no easy solutions.” It 's hard to prepare our schools for the new comings, but we need to put our best effort to have the best education of the world. Student achievement has stagnated or declined since 1970, and the cost of sending a child to the K-12 systems has tripled, even with the adjusted inflation (Coulson, 2010). Who must be in control?

Schools have a number of various sources. The primary sources are federal, state, and local funding. The majority of funding comes from state and local sources; whereas a small percent (usually 9-12%) comes from the federal level. The method by which schools receive funding is through the taxation process. At the state level, taxes are levied from taxpayers, both corporate and citizens via sales and income tax. At the local level, school funding comes from property taxes. Let’s explore the how the various sources of school funding. “According to the National Center for Education Statistics, state and local funding accounts for approximately 93 percent of education expenditures” (Woodruff, 2008, ¶ 2). Let’s examine these various sources of revenue and funding and different formulas for allocation along with their pros and cons.

Currently the education system in the United States is funded mostly on a state and local level, who always borne over 90% of the public elementary and secondary education finances (need cite). The original Department of Education was developed in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems (need cite). Fast forward over one hundred years to 1980, when Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency, and note that education standards and improvement continue to be of great importance to the government. It is important to note that the state and federal government play separate roles in the education of students, whereas the federal government has the means to