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 policy and outlines a bold and controversial vision for its future. Jennings brings an insider’s knowledge to this account, offering a vivid analysis of federal efforts in the education arena and revealing some of the factors that shaped their enactment. His rich descriptions and lively anecdotes provide pointed lessons about the partisan climate that stymies much federal policy making today. After assessing the impacts of Title I and NCLB, and exploring the variety of ways that the federal government has intervened in education, Jennings sets forth an ambitious agenda for reframing education as a federal civil right and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn.
In Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools, longtime policy analyst Jack Jennings examines the evolution of federal education policy and outlines a bold and controversial vision for its future. He assesses the impacts of Title I and NCLB, and explores the variety of ways that the federal government has intervened in education. He concludes by setting forth an ambitious national agenda to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn. "No one knows more about ESEA and especially Title I than Jack Jennings. Here he tells a remarkably unbiased, informed, and crisp story about the politics, battles, and decisions made by Congress over the past fifty years. As Jennings makes clear, the story is not over. His conclusions propose a new and important course for Congress." -- Marshall (Mike) Smith, former under secretary, U.S. Department of Education "Jennings has written an admirably bold proposal for overhauling the federal role in K-12 education, with an eye to both student learning and equity. Arguing that NCLB has not lived up to its promise, he presents a blueprint for an improved balance in the federal-state relationship, one providing flexibility and accountability. His ideas merit serious attention and debate." -- Elizabeth DeBray, professor of educational administration and policy, University of Georgia "If you agree with everything in this book you probably didn't read it closely. But if you don't read it you're missing a unique account of federal education policy from someone who was in the middle of it for decades. Jennings offers a concise history and some ideas about new directions that show what federal education policy has accomplished and how much work remains." -- Andrew J. Rotherham, cofounder and partner, Bellwether Education "Only Jack Jennings could have written this unique and important account of federal involvement in education. Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools is a must-read contribution to American education policy that will stimulate important conversations about our future." -- Gene Wilhoit, founder and executive director, Center for Innovation in Education, and partner, Student Achievement Partners Jack Jennings is the founder and former CEO of the Center on Education Policy. He served for twenty-seven years as a subcommittee staff director and then as general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. Michael J. Feuer is the dean and professor of education at The George Washington University, and president of the National Academy of Education.
After a half-a-century of school reform, a majority of Americans consider the public schools as worse today than when they attended school. Those reforms missed the mark because they were not focused on the backgrounds of the students’ parents--by far the most important indicator of students’ progress in school. The importance of parents was documented by the Coleman Report more than 50 years ago. School reform must be continued but re-directed to over-come the power of low parental socio-economic status. The best way to improve the schools is to create a better, fairer economy providing parents with good jobs and decent wages. In the meantime, good pre-school, after-school, and other aids are needed to help students from low income families. Teacher quality, although not as influential as the parents’ backgrounds, is the second most significant indicator of student success. Teachers, like parents, have not been the focus of the attention their importance deserves. In particular, teachers should be fairly paid, and their verbal and cognitive skills improved. The Coleman Report again documented the importance of those skills more than half-a-century ago. Instead, money, time, and effort have been spent on reforms that won’t bring about great improvement because they did not address adequately those two important factors.
In Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools, longtime policy analyst Jack Jennings examines the evolution of federal education policy and outlines a bold and controversial vision for its future. He assesses the impacts of Title I and NCLB, and explores the variety of ways that the federal government has intervened in education. He concludes by setting forth an ambitious national agenda to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn. No one knows more about ESEA and especially Title I than Jack Jennings. Here he tells a remarkably unbiased, informed, and crisp story about the politics, battles, and decisions made by Congress over the past fifty years. As Jennings makes clear, the story is not over. His conclusions propose a new and important course for Congress. Marshall (Mike) Smith, former under secretary, U.S. Department of Education Jennings has written an admirably bold proposal for overhauling the federal role in K 12 education, with an eye to both student learning and equity. Arguing that NCLB has not lived up to its promise, he presents a blueprint for an improved balance in the federal-state relationship, one providing flexibility and accountability. His ideas merit serious attention and debate. Elizabeth DeBray, professor of educational administration and policy, University of Georgia If you agree with everything in this book you probably didn't read it closely. But if you don't read it you're missing a unique account of federal education policy from someone who was in the middle of it for decades. Jennings offers a concise history and some ideas about new directions that show what federal education policy has accomplished and how much work remains. Andrew J. Rotherham, cofounder and partner, Bellwether Education Only Jack Jennings could have written this unique and important account of federal involvement in education.Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schoolsis a must-read contribution to American education policy that will stimulate important conversations about our future. Gene Wilhoit, founder and executive director, Center for Innovation in Education, and partner, Student Achievement Partners Jack Jenningsis the founder and former CEO of the Center on Education Policy. He served for twenty-seven years as a subcommittee staff director and then as general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. Michael J. Feueris the dean and professor of education at The George Washington University, and president of the National Academy of Education."
How Trump has used the federal government to promote conservative policies The presidency of Donald Trump has been unique in many respects—most obviously his flamboyant personal style and disregard for conventional niceties and factual information. But one area hasn't received as much attention as it deserves: Trump's use of the “administrative presidency,” including executive orders and regulatory changes, to reverse the policies of his predecessor and advance positions that lack widespread support in Congress. This book analyzes the dynamics and unique qualities of Trump's administrative presidency in the important policy areas of health care, education, and climate change. In each of these spheres, the arrival of the Trump administration represented a hostile takeover in which White House policy goals departed sharply from the more “liberal” ideologies and objectives of key agencies, which had been embraced by the Obama administration. Three expert authors show how Trump has continued, and even expanded, the rise of executive branch power since the Reagan years. The authors intertwine this focus with an in-depth examination of how the Trump administration's hostile takeover has drastically changed key federal policies—and reshaped who gets what from government—in the areas of health care, education, and climate change. Readers interested in the institutions of American democracy and the nation's progress (or lack thereof) in dealing with pressing policy problems will find deep insights in this book. Of particular interest is the book's examination of how the Trump administration's actions have long-term implications for American democracy.
In the wake of the tragedy and destruction that came with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, public schools in New Orleans became part of an almost unthinkable experiment—eliminating the traditional public education system and completely replacing it with charter schools and school choice. Fifteen years later, the results have been remarkable, and the complex lessons learned should alter the way we think about American education. New Orleans became the first US city ever to adopt a school system based on the principles of markets and economics. When the state took over all of the city’s public schools, it turned them over to non-profit charter school managers accountable under performance-based contracts. Students were no longer obligated to attend a specific school based upon their address, allowing families to act like consumers and choose schools in any neighborhood. The teacher union contract, tenure, and certification rules were eliminated, giving schools autonomy and control to hire and fire as they pleased. In Charter School City, Douglas N. Harris provides an inside look at how and why these reform decisions were made and offers many surprising findings from one of the most extensive and rigorous evaluations of a district school reform ever conducted. Through close examination of the results, Harris finds that this unprecedented experiment was a noteworthy success on almost every measurable student outcome. But, as Harris shows, New Orleans was uniquely situated for these reforms to work well and that this market-based reform still required some specific and active roles for government. Letting free markets rule on their own without government involvement will not generate the kinds of changes their advocates suggest. Combining the evidence from New Orleans with that from other cities, Harris draws out the broader lessons of this unprecedented reform effort. At a time when charter school debates are more based on ideology than data, this book is a powerful, evidence-based, and in-depth look at how we can rethink the roles for governments, markets, and nonprofit organizations in education to ensure that America’s schools fulfill their potential for all students.
The federal government is deeply entrenched in American public education and virtually dictates what can be taught to students. Why? At what cost? And what are the benefits to public school students? To public schools? The author challenges the constitutionality of the feds in the classroom and reminds readers that public education has, until recently, been the function of state and local governments.
One civil rights-era law has reshaped American society—and contributed to the country's ongoing culture wars Few laws have had such far-reaching impact as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Intended to give girls and women greater access to sports programs and other courses of study in schools and colleges, the law has since been used by judges and agencies to expand a wide range of antidiscrimination policies—most recently the Obama administration’s 2016 mandates on sexual harassment and transgender rights. In this comprehensive review of how Title IX has been implemented, Boston College political science professor R. Shep Melnick analyzes how interpretations of "equal educational opportunity" have changed over the years. In terms accessible to non-lawyers, Melnick examines how Title IX has become a central part of legal and political campaigns to correct gender stereotypes, not only in academic settings but in society at large. Title IX thus has become a major factor in America's culture wars—and almost certainly will remain so for years to come.
A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice An award-winning constitutional law scholar at the University of Chicago (who clerked for Judge Merrick B. Garland, Justice Stephen Breyer, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor) gives us an engaging and alarming book that aims to vindicate the rights of public school students, which have so often been undermined by the Supreme Court in recent decades. Judicial decisions assessing the constitutional rights of students in the nation’s public schools have consistently generated bitter controversy. From racial segregation to unauthorized immigration, from antiwar protests to compulsory flag salutes, from economic inequality to teacher-led prayer—these are but a few of the cultural anxieties dividing American society that the Supreme Court has addressed in elementary and secondary schools. The Schoolhouse Gate gives a fresh, lucid, and provocative account of the historic legal battles waged over education and illuminates contemporary disputes that continue to fracture the nation. Justin Driver maintains that since the 1970s the Supreme Court has regularly abdicated its responsibility for protecting students’ constitutional rights and risked transforming public schools into Constitution-free zones. Students deriving lessons about citizenship from the Court’s decisions in recent decades would conclude that the following actions taken by educators pass constitutional muster: inflicting severe corporal punishment on students without any procedural protections, searching students and their possessions without probable cause in bids to uncover violations of school rules, random drug testing of students who are not suspected of wrongdoing, and suppressing student speech for the viewpoint it espouses. Taking their cue from such decisions, lower courts have upheld a wide array of dubious school actions, including degrading strip searches, repressive dress codes, draconian “zero tolerance” disciplinary policies, and severe restrictions on off-campus speech. Driver surveys this legal landscape with eloquence, highlights the gripping personal narratives behind landmark clashes, and warns that the repeated failure to honor students’ rights threatens our basic constitutional order. This magisterial book will make it impossible to view American schools—or America itself—in the same way again.
