ESEA—A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOWExamining 5 decades of federal education decision making

Source: Political Education: National Policy Comes of Age by Christopher T. Cross (2010). Teachers College Press: New York.

1965 ESEA becomes law under President Johnson.

1974 President Nixon resigns without reauthorizing ESEA.

1974 President Ford signs ESEA reauthorization bill as one of his first acts.

1978 President Carter advocates concentration of Title I funds to districts with greatest numbers of low-income students.

1978 Carter signs ESEA reauthorization just before congressional elections.

1981 President Reagan reauthorized ESEA for six years with an automatic extension for a seventh year requiring states to define levels of student academic achievement.

1989 President Bush convenes Charlottesville (VA) Education Summit bringing together state governors to discuss America’s international competitiveness and public school conditions.

1994 President Clinton creates Improving America’s School Act (ESEA reauthorization), which concentrates more federal money to school districts with higher concentrations of low-income students.

ESEA law also linked standards, testing, teacher training, curriculum, and accountability.

2001 President Bush renames ESEA reauthorization “No Child Left Behind” and signs it into law; testing is required in reading and math in grades 3–8 and establishes adequate yearly progress guidelines.

2007 ESEA reauthorization due but no congressional action taken

2011 ESEA still unauthorized five years after its original reauthorization date.

32% increase!

$6.8

$9.0

CarterFord

Carter increases federal funding for education

1994 President Clinton’s Goals 2000 initiative becomes law, establishing a framework to identify world-class academic standards, to measure student progress, and to provide the support that students may need to meet the standards.

1975 President Ford signs Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

1979 President Carter creates cabinet-level Department of Education.

1981 President Reagan signs Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, giving states more control over fund allocations.

1991 U.S. Department of Education creates the National Council on Education Standards and Testing under President Bush.

2009 President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; bill includes $100 billion for education.

Majority of states agree to create Common Core State Standards.

“You have to know the past to understand the present.”

Dr. Carl SaganAstronomer and Nobel Prize-winning authorThe Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed in

1965 as a part of the “War on Poverty.” ESEA emphasizes equal access to education and establishes high standards and accountability. The

law authorizes federally funded education programs that are administered by the states.

1969 Using administrative powers, President Nixon establishes voucher demonstration project/public school choice and Experimental Schools Program.

1969 President Johnson creates National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP).

With ESEA reauthorization overdue by five years and the 2012 presidential election cycle in full swing, it’s anyone’s guess when the law will be reauthorized—and by whom.

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

OB

AM

A20

09

–13*

BU

SH

200

1–09

CL

INT

ON

199

3–20

01

BU

SH

198

9–9

3R

EA

GA

N19

81–8

9C

AR

TE

R19

77–81

FO

RD

1974

–77N

IXO

N19

69

–74JO

HN

SO

N19

63

–69

*As of Spring 2012

The federal role in education policy...

$ B

illio

ns

...has grown tremendously

46 Years of ESEA

2002 President Bush signs the Education Sciences Reform Art, which creates an Institute of Educational Sciences, headed by a presidentially appointed director for a six-year term.

Members of media and the public are welcome to post the downloadable PDF of this infographic provided that no alterations are made and that the posting is for educational, noncommercial purposes only. © 2012 ASCD. All rights reserved.

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