History of Public Education

The Beginning of the Public Education System
Almost all states had passed laws requiring children to attend at least elementary school by 1918. Private schools were created by the Catholics, who were opposed to common schooling. Their decision was supported by the 1925 Supreme Court rule in Pierce v. Society of Sisters that states could not compel children to attend public schools, and that children could attend private schools instead.

High Schools
Founded in 1635, the Boston Latin School was the first publicly supported secondary school in the United States. One of the most striking developments in U.S. education during the 20th century was the rise in American high school attendance. During the 20th century, participation in higher or postsecondary education in the United States increased tremendously. Many land-grant colleges and state universities were established through gifts of federal land to the states for the support of higher education. Public education in the United States is the primary responsibility of the individual states rather than the federal government. Eventually, every state developed a department of education and enacted laws regulating finance, the hiring of school personnel, student attendance, and curriculum. To meet the vast majority of school expenses, Public schools have also relied heavily on local property taxes.

The school districts with similar procedures were consolidated into larger units, and the state assumed a larger share of responsibility for financing education. In 1940, local property taxes financed 68 percent of public school expenses, while the states contributed 30 percent. In 1990 local districts and states each contributed 47 percent to public school revenues. Very low academic achievement in public schools was reflected in a federal report published in 1983. Further centralization in the field of education has occurred due to the activities of the Federal Government. The federal commitment to improve and finance public schools expanded enormously when Congress passed the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Since the 1950s, public policy toward education has addressed discrimination issues in education more than educational issues.

Of increasing concern to the federal government is the issue of equality in school districts. Because they were still favoring slavery, the southern states opposed the education of blacks. In the United States, even in the 1950's, segregation by race in public and private schools was still common. Segregation usually resulted in inferior education for blacks. Average public expenditures for white schools exceeded expenditures for black schools.

Teachers in white schools generally received higher pay than did teachers in black schools, and facilities in most white schools were far superior to facilities in most black schools. In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 1954, that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Women have also been much discriminated against in American schools. Though the History of Public Education has been shrouded in scandals, the education system now is as strong as ever.