The issues and arguments surrounding school choice are sometimes hijacked to make political points about government control, democratic ideals, the public good, and privatization. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, David Garcia avoids partisan arguments to offer an accessible, objective, and comprehensive guide to school…

The basic foundation of policy making had undergone profound shifts over the past two decades as the policy makers are inclined to rely heavily on the exercise of power in their pursuit of development and prosperity. Government interventionism was subject to a strong intellectual and political backlash, and a new ideological movement seeking to…

Frederick M. Hess and Michael Q. McShane have gathered a diverse group of scholars to examine the shifting federal role in education across the presidential administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. While the administrations were vastly different, one thing remained constant: an ongoing and significant expansion of the federal role in…

April 2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the landmark legislation that has provided the foundation of federal education policy in the United States. In "Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools," longtime policy analyst Jack Jennings examines the evolution of federal education…

The federal government's role in PreK-12 education has long been contentious and continues to evolve. Many have written about education governance, but few have attempted to define an appropriate role for the federal government. That is the core purpose of this essay. The authors articulate a set of principles to guide the federal role in…

Despite constraints on federal resources and authority in education policy, the federal government has a pivotal role to play in identifying a compelling, high-impact focal point that aligns policy priorities at the federal, state, and local levels. The federal government could play a critical role in expanding students' access to excellent…

By the time he left office, President Bush's faith-based initiative had become a kind of stand-in for his entire presidency. Whenever something went wrong on Bush's watch it was tarred as yet another "faith-based" policy. As the 2008 presidential election began to take shape, with the Democrats newly in charge of both the House and the Senate and…

This book tracks the dramatic outcomes of the federal government's growing involvement in higher education between World War I and the 1970s, and the conservative backlash against that involvement from the 1980s onward. Using cutting-edge analysis, Christopher Loss recovers higher education's central importance to the larger social and political…

Contains a letter to the Columbia University community from its president regarding the university's conflict with HEW. (HS)

This paper identifies major changes in the area of civil rights which have been instituted during President Reagan's term in office and discusses their implications for Hispanics. Section I briefly outlines central themes of the Administration's attitude towards civil rights. Questions about their negative impact on Hispanics are raised. The next…

The complete text of the ruling of U.S. District Judge, John H. Pratt, in Adams v. Richardson, a suit for relief against the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, delivered on November 16, 1972. (JM)

This paper outlines developments in the segregation of Hispanics in public schools. It begins with a review of Gary Orfield's study, "Desegregation of Black and Hispanic Students from 1968 to 1980." Orfield determined that during the last decade Hispanics have been increasingly segregated in public schools, and are currently even more…

Regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 were published in 1975 amid considerable speculation over their impact on college student affairs. More than one year later, there does not appear to be substantial understanding in the higher education community of what Title IX has meant for students and for administrators.…

Discusses the clash between federal government regulations and the university's right to be autonomous with regard to its own academic affairs. Presents the costs of and justifications for federal regulations. Suggests that subsidies, rather than regulations, are the best means for bringing about change while preserving diversity in universities.…

The following topics of immediate concern to the American Federation of Teachers are discussed in terms of their current status and future plans for action: (1) federal aid to education; (2) bilingual education; (3) pensions, benefits, and retirement; (4) effective lobbying; (5) civil rights; (6) collective bargaining and union membership; (7)…