Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is a United States law passed in 1965. It was a central part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It also was a key legislative achievement of his domestic program called the Great Society. The idea behind ESEA was for the federal government to promote fairness in education, as well as greater economic and social opportunity for students. The act was the federal government’s first major involvement in education policy for kindergarten through high school. It initiated a new era of federal involvement in education reform.
The new law was intended chiefly to redistribute federal education funds among schools and to supplement school spending in the poorest communities. It also was meant to help reduce differences in achievement corresponding to students’ race and socioeconomic (social and economic) status. The central part of ESEA was Title I. It stated that “the Congress hereby declares it to be the policy of the United States to provide financial assistance…to expand and improve…educational programs by various means…which contribute particularly to meeting the special educational needs of educationally deprived children.”
Title I provided for programs to help lower-income children. Such programs included remedial reading and mathematics programs—that is, programs to assist students having difficulty learning—and special summer programs. Other sections of the act included benefits not limited to lower-income students. A 1966 amendment to ESEA provided funds for educational programs and facilities for children with disabilities. A 1968 amendment supplied funds for bilingual education programs.
One of the most significant results of ESEA was the centralization of education policymaking, from the local level to the state and federal levels. Initially, ESEA was intended to provide additional resources to disadvantaged students, with little federal involvement or oversight. Over time, however, federal influence over schools grew significantly. The government enacted an increasing number of education laws and regulations. The amount and portion of education funding from the federal government also increased.
Since it was passed, ESEA has been amended and reauthorized a number of times. Reauthorization is the reenactment of a law so that its provisions will not expire, often with significant updates or changes. Through such revisions, the legislation has grown dramatically in terms of education funding and programs. It also has become much more specific about how education programs should be carried out. The most recent reauthorizations of ESEA have included the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.
