It is a little known fact that the Department of Education was first established in 1867. Rep. James A. Garfield (R-OH) sponsored the legislation. The legislation authorized a mere three employees and its duties were few but not insignificant. President Andrew Johnson signed it.
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This statute also established the National Education Commission on Time and Learning.
The citation for this law is P.L. 102-62; 105 Stat. 305.
President William J Clinton signed the Goals 2000 Educate America Act (P.L. 103-227; 108 Stat. 125) on March 31, 1994.
The law had many aspects, not least was its aim to “provide a framework for meeting the National Education Goals,” which included ensuring “all children will start school ready to learn,” a high school graduation rate of “at least” 90%, and more. All of these goals were to be achieved by the year 2000.
The full text of the Goals 2000 Educate America Act is accessible in the window below.
The National Defense Education Act of 1958 (P.L. 85-864; 72 Stat. 1580) became law on September 2, 1958. This federal policy largely targeted collegiate education, authorizing both National Defence Fellowships and loans for students.
The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) also provided funds to state educational agencies for the purposes of improving the teaching of science, mathematics, and “modern foreign languages” (e.g., Russian, not Latin). Thus, the NDEA was the first major federal foray into K-12 curricula since the Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act of 1917.
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Federal Education Policy History 