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CHAPTER 4–CONTROLLING SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
A. OVERVIEW
This chapter provides information regarding who controls the public educa-
tional system in the United States. Areas discussed include the role of the fed-
eral judiciary, legislative and executive branches, and other national organiza-
tions in education. Also discussed are factors at the state and local levels, such
as state legislatures and teacher organizations.
B. KEY TERMS–DEFINITIONS
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS - a national teachers’ organiza-
tion second only to the National Education Association in membership. The
AFT has more than 825,000 members.
BROWN CASE - stated that “separate” is inherently unequal and required that
schools desegregate with all deliberate speed.
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS - enacted the first national legislation related to
education.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - cabinet level office within the federal
government responsible for education. Passed by Congress and subsequently
approved by the 39th President Jimmy Carter on October 17, 1979, it became
operative on May 5, 1980.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH - of the federal government has been involved in
public education and has expanded its involvement since the late 1960s.
JUDICIAL BRANCH - has become very involved in education during the past
30 years; the courts.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH - acts passed by state legislatures and Congress that
become laws.
LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY - local school districts. This is the basic edu-
cation unit in all states.
MILL - a tenth of a cent or a thousandth of a dollar. The rate used to assess
property taxes.
NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION - largest teachers’ organization in
the U.S. The NEA has more than 2.2 million members.
PROPERTY TAX - tax assessed on local properties to use to finance public
education.
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PUBLIC LAW 94-142 - Education for all Handicapped Children Act. Passed
in 1975, this act mandates a free, appropriate public education for all children
with disabilities.
SMITH-HUGHES ACT (Public Law 64-347) – federal legislation enacted in
1917 to support vocational education below the college level. The act sought to
strengthen the teaching of agriculture, home economics, and industrial subjects
by subsidizing salaries of teachers and supervisors in these areas. The start of
federal aid for public elementary and secondary schools, and also expanded
state programs of aid to local districts.
STATE EDUCATION AGENCY - state unit responsible for public and private
educational programs in states.
TAXES - payments to a government to pay for various services.
TEACHER UNIONS - teachers’ organizations that lobby for educational pro-
grams and teachers’ rights and benefits. The NEA and AFT are the two largest
national teacher unions in the U.S.
TENTH AMENDMENT - amendment that reserves to the States areas not
specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
U.S. CONSTITUTION - system of fundamental principles of action.
C. SOME PRECEDING THOUGHTS
1. What does the United States Constitution say about education?
There is no mention of education, learning, teaching, or related concepts in
the Constitution. Education is not a topic of the Constitution. The Tenth
Amendment states that any matters not specifically addressed are reserved
to the states. Therefore, any matters that the drafters thought should be left
to the states did not need to be addressed in the Constitution.
2. How different would our educational system be if there were explicit
statements about education in the Constitution?
It is impossible to speculate on the differences between our current educa-
tional system and one whose structure might have been laid out by the
drafters of the Constitution.
3. What federal legislative acts have affected education?
a. Land Ordinance Act (1785)–every township set aside one section for
public schools. Reserve lot #16 for the support of public schools.
b. Northwest Ordinance (1787)–schools and the means of education shall
forever be encouraged. Expressed a commitment for education.
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c. Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)–gave federal land to states to establish
land-grant colleges. Federal government gave away 16 million acres of
land. The act prescribed that the study of agriculture, mechanical arts,
and military tactics was to be supplement to traditional scientific and
classical studies. A second Morrill Act passed in 1890 made federal
funds available to each land grant college on an annual basis; estab-
lished separate funding for black land-grant universities.
d. Smith-Hughes Act (1917)–provided categorical aid to vocational edu-
cation programs in public schools.
e. National Defense Education Act (1958)–funding for science education.
f. The 1960s marked the beginning of significant federal legislation, that
included:
1. Manpower Development Training Act (1962)
2. Vocational Education Act (1963)
3. Higher Education Act (1965)
4. Bilingual Education Act (1968)
5. Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975)
g. Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)–provided funds for
economically disadvantaged children. ESEA has been amended several
times and now has a broad scope currently covering hundreds of pro-
grams.
4. Which federal court decisions have affected education and how have
they affected education?
The most comprehensive act affecting public education was the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments.
ESEA was designed to improve the quality of education at the elementary
and secondary school levels. Title I, the best known of the act’s six titles
was included for the purpose of meeting the special educational needs of
children of low-income families. The act has been amended and extended
several times by the United States Congress.
5. What role do teachers’ organizations play in the control of education?
As individuals, teachers have limited power. Therefore, they have banded
together into teacher organizations to become a major force in controlling
public education in the U.S. They wield tremendous political power, both
in numbers and in dollars spent on campaigns. The political influence has
allowed teachers as a group to influence legislation.
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6. What groups in state government influence education?
Many different groups at the state level exert a great deal of influence over
education, including state legislatures, teacher associations, administrator
associations, and groups representing specific populations of students. The
power of these groups varies from state to state.
7. How do accreditation agencies and textbook publishers influence edu-
cation?
The influence of accreditation agencies on education is indirect. The dis-
continuance of accreditation by universities and the increase of accredita-
tion by various governmental agencies or specially formed organizations
brought forth the emphasis of the standardized test. The requirement to
pass standardized tests has caused many schools to begin to teach the tests.
In other words, instruction is aimed at helping students to score high
enough on the tests to gain admittance to a college and to keep parents
happy about the performance of the school.
School book publishers control education by controlling the content of the
books used for instruction. Textbooks contain the majority of material pre-
sented to students and very often include suggestions for teaching styles
and methods.
8. What is the role of local boards of education?
The three primary functions of the local school boards are:
a. long-range planning;
b. setting priorities;
c. evaluating the superintendent; school board members set policies that
affect the local district;
Local school board members often set standards that are more stringent
than state requirements.
9. Who does control education in the United States?
No one group controls American education. All three levels of govern-
ment–local, state, and federal–are heavily involved. Publishing companies,
teachers’ organizations, and testing companies exert indirect influence.
The judiciary has set precedence of ruling on education issues, and local
teacher and parent groups are gaining influence.
10. What are taxes?
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Taxes are compulsory assessments from people to the government to de-
fray the expenses incurred in the common interest of all with reference to
special benefits conferred.
11. How did public support for schools develop?
Public support for education began in colonial Massachusetts Bay in 1647
with the “Olde Deluder Satan” legislation that created tax-supported
schools, but also set a precedence for communities to avoid their commit-
ment by allowing the payment of a fine rather than operating a school. In
many instances, the penalty was much less expensive. The “Olde Deluder
Satan” Act was the first in America to provide for compulsory elementary
and secondary schools. By 1900, the principle of tax supported schools
was firmly established.
12. How are property taxes used to support public schools?
One use of property taxes is the payment of bonds used for new construc-
tion. School administrators borrow the money they need that isn’t avail-
able from current revenues. This is done by selling bonds. Then they have
to convince voters to pass a bond issue that would increase the millage on
all assessed property in order to pay the loan back with interest over a
specified period of time.
Property is of three types:
a. real property, or land and permanent improvements;
b. tangible, such as equipment, livestock, and business inventories;
c. intangible property, including stocks, bonds, and so forth.
Power of these groups varies from state to state.
13. In general, what are the total expenditures by function for a typical
school district in America?
a. Instructional services 69.8%
b. Other current expenditures 2.5%
c. Environmental conditions 2.5%
d. Maintenance and operations 7.6%
e. Central administration 4.5%
f. School site leadership 5.6%
g. Student services 7.4%
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14. What are the components of McGregor’s Theory X and Y?
a. Theory X
1. People inherently dislike work and will avoid it if they can.
2. People must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threatened in or-
der to make them work.
3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid
responsibility, and has relatively little ambition.
b. Theory Y
1. The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural
as play or rest.
2. People can exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of
objectives to which they are committed.
3. The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only
to accept but to seek responsibility.
(McGregor’s Theory X and Y)
c. Theory X – Decision-Making
1. Close supervision.
2. One-way communication.
3. Strategy planning by top leaders only.
4. Decision-making at the top level only.
5. A handing down of decisions to be implemented by middle man-
agement.
6. A handing down of instructions to be carried out by the workers.
7. Nothing goes up except reports.
d. Theory Y – Decision-Making
1. Two-way communication.
2. Involvement in goal setting, planning, and decision-making at each
level.
3. Larger spans of control.
4. Greater decentralization.
5. Greater use of team management.
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15. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations
adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
full text which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act,
the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the
Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and ex-
pounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without
distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalien-
able rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of free-
dom, justice, and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in bar-
barous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the ad-
vent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and
belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a
last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights
should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations
between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed
their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and work of the hu-
man person and in the equal rights of men and women and have deter-
mined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger free-
dom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in coopera-
tion with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and
observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the
greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
proclaims
THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the
end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declara-
9. CHAPTER 4–CONTROLLING SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
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tion constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and educating to promote
respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, nation-
al and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and
observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and
among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and
should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth
in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as
race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opin-
ion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of
the political, jurisdictional or international status of the
country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be
independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other
limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the
slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a per-
son before the law.
Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are enti-
tled to equal protection against any discrimination in viola-
tion of this Declaration and against any incitement to such
discrimination.
Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the compe-
tent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental
rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile.
Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the de-
termination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal
charge against him.
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Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a
public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary
for his defense.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account
of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal of-
fense, under national or international law, at the time when
it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed
than the one that was applicable at the time the penal of-
fense was committed.
Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his
privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks
upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the
protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and resi-
dence within the borders of each State.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his
own, and to return to his country.
Article 14. (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other coun-
tries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions
genuinely arising from nonpolitical crimes or from acts con-
trary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15. (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor
denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to
race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to
found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to mar-
riage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full
consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of so-
ciety and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17. (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in
association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
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Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; this right includes freedom to change his reli-
gion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community
with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion
or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expres-
sion; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without
interference and to seek, receive, and impart information
and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21. (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his
country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in
his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of
government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine
elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and
shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting pro-
cedures.
Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social se-
curity and is entitled to realization, through national effort
and international cooperation and in accordance with the or-
ganization and resources of each State, of the economic, so-
cial and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the
free development of his personality.
Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employ-
ment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to pro-
tection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal
pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable re-
muneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence
worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary,
by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for
the protection of his interests.
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Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reason-
able limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with
pay.
Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for
the health and well-being of himself and of his family, in-
cluding food, clothing, housing and medical care and neces-
sary social services, and the right to security in the event of
unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or
other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and
assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock,
shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free,
at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elemen-
tary education shall be compulsory. Technical and profes-
sional education shall be made generally available and high-
er education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of
merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the
human personality and to the strengthening of respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations,
racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of
the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education
that shall be given to their children.
Article 27. (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural
life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in sci-
entific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and
material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or
artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in
which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration
can be fully realized.
Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the
free and full development of his personality is possible.
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(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be
subject, only to such limitations as are determined by law
solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and re-
spect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting
the just requirements of morality, public order and the gen-
eral welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised con-
trary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying
for any State, group or person any right to engage in any ac-
tivity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any
of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Source: Black's law dictionary (7th ed.). (1990). St. Paul, MN: West Group. Adapted with permission
D. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES
1. What is the prevailing idea concerning who controls American public
education?
The control of public education is a complex arrangement. The federal
government, state governments, local school boards, and local communi-
ties are some of the various groups and agencies that control our public
school systems. Accreditation agencies, textbook publishers and authors,
teachers’ unions, curriculum reform groups, and the press are some less
obvious organizations that exert some control in the education system.
With so many groups exerting influence, maybe no one group controls ed-
ucation, but a number of groups and factors collectively provide the con-
trol. This combination will continue to influence our education system and
have a great impact on its future. Many people believe that local groups
control public education. Among these groups are school boards and the
general public.
2. How does the federal government exert control over education?
Beginning with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the federal government
has passed much legislation that increases the involvement of the federal
government through its executive, legislative, and judiciary branches. The
most comprehensive act concerning public education was the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and its amendments. With the pas-
sage of this act, Congress began to influence educational reform with fi-
nancial incentives. In addition to spending to improve programs, Congress
passed the Civil Rights legislation that would ensure equal opportunities in
education. The judiciary has started reviewing educational issues and by
14. SCHOOLING (2002)
PAGE 173
doing so, creates rights to individuals and groups that had previously been
ignored and caused schools to provide services for a broader population of
students. The executive branch known as the Department of Education
works to consolidate the many federal programs that deal with education.
The 1960s marked the beginning of significant involvement by the federal
government with the passage of numerous acts. These included the Man-
power Development Training Act of 1962, the Vocational Act of 1963, the
Higher Education Act of 1963, the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1965, the Higher Education
Act of 1965, the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, and the Education for
All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. The most comprehensive act was
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and its subsequent
amendment. This act provided funds for the economically disadvantaged
children, demonstration programs, innovative programs, libraries, and as-
sistance to improve secondary education programs. With the passage of
this legislation, Congress began influencing educational reform with finan-
cial incentives.
3. What are some of the things local school boards can do to exert control?
a. Local school boards set policies that affect the local district, that may
be more rigorous than state requirements in some instances. The local
boards can also provide the necessary incentives to ensure the quality
of local education.
b. School boards set long-range plans, set priorities and evaluate the su-
perintendent.
c. The rights and responsibilities of boards are rarely clearly defined; this
gives them room to operate.
d. School boards often set policies that are more stringent than state re-
quirements in such areas as graduation and teacher responsibilities.
4. How do groups such as accrediting agencies, textbook publishers, and
testing agencies exert control over public education?
a. Accrediting agencies–these groups provide standards for the public to
compare its schools, assure that school will undergo periodic self-
study, assure that faculty and teaching conditions meet certain mini-
mum standards and indicate a commitment to quality education by
school.
b. Textbook publishers–these groups, by the choice of texts and books
offered can greatly influence education, more so at the secondary level
than at the elementary level. Content-oriented books, such as eco-
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PAGE 174
nomics, biology, and history are more susceptible to this type of influ-
ence than are music, P.E., and vocational courses. Books that empha-
size a particular line of study would dictate the teaching of that course.
c. Testing agencies–these groups that set up standardized tests that are used
in public education influence the system because educators feel com-
pelled to teach a curricula that will enable the students to pass the tests.
5. Who does control American education?
The control of American education is shared by many groups, informal
and formal. No one group controls our schools. Control is shared by many
different agencies. To sum it up, control of education in the U.S. will con-
tinue to be shared by a multitude of individuals and groups, although the
levels of influence may shift among groups, most of the variables influenc-
ing education currently will continue to have some impact in the future.
6. Discuss the primary funding sources of public education?
Local taxation has been a primary source of funding for schools in the
past, but state governments are currently providing a larger share of sup-
port. The property tax is the backbone of local taxation and therefore a ma-
jor source of funding for public education.
State aid is a funding method that provides an equalization of funding
throughout its school districts.
Federal aid is unlike state aid in that it is not concerned with equity. Fed-
eral is categorical and concerned with special problems. Federal aid can be
spent only for those purposes specified in the authorizing legislation.
7. What are the 10 commandments for business, education, and political
leaders?
You will willingly and voluntarily relinquish your appointed or elected po-
sition as a Leader when and if:
1. Caring a lot doesn’t hurt any more.
2. Your colleague’s vision of excellence consistently exceeds yours.
3. Objectives become more important to you than intentions.
4. Words of compromise dominate your approach to conflict resolution.
5. Change is what the other person is supposed to do.
6. People no longer represent the central focus for you in organizational
life.
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7. You begin evaluating yourself on the basis of what you have done
rather than what you are doing.
8. Controlling and manipulating people become more important to you
than guiding and illuminating them.
9. Learning loses its luster and mystic.
10. Adventures of the mind, body, and spirit are spurned rather than pur-
sued.
E. REVIEW ITEMS
True-False
1. The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 gave federal land to establish land
grant colleges.
2. The control of education in the United States is centralized in the Federal
Department of Education.
3. Legislative oversight refers to faulty long-range planning by the legisla-
ture.
4. Each school district in the United States is under the control of a local
school board.
5. Control of education in the United States is shared by many individuals
and groups.
Multiple Choice
1. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 provided aid to _______.
a. general education b. vocational education
c. business education d. all of the above
2. The first federal legislation related to education was _______.
a. the Land Ordinance b. Morrill Land Grand Act
c. Smith-Hughes Act d. Continental Education Act
3. The first federal Department of Education was established in _______.
a. 1795 b. 1867 c. 1918 d. 1979
4. The AFT (American Federation of Teachers) is primarily for _______.
a. teachers b. administrators c. university professors
d. all of the above
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PAGE 176
5. The group that really controls education in the United States is _______.
a. local government b. state government c. federal government
d. all of the above
