Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1965

Elementary and Secondary Ed Act

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty." President Johnson believed that providing an education to children in low-income communities would enable them to become successful later in life, and that it would assist them in overcoming their poverty. The Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 has helped to reform the American education system and has had a significant legislative impact in the United States.

Enacted on April 19, 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 passed less than three months after the bill proposing this legislation was introduced to Congress. The bill intended to close the achievement gap created by race and poverty, and also sought to hold schools accountable for educational achievements -- or lack thereof -- and "increase education equality nationally" ("Elementary and Secondary Education Act"). As a former teacher, President Johnson "believed that equal access to education was vital to a child's ability to lead a productive life" ("Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965"). The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was established because it was believed that children from low-income homes "required more educational services than children from affluent homes," thus the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 allocated $1 billion a year to "schools with a high concentration of low-income children" ("Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965"). This funding was intended to increase test scores and promote academic development to provide children with the tools and skills necessary to escape poverty, so long as a national curriculum was not established ("Elementary and Secondary Education Act"). Furthermore, President Johnson argued that the bill would "offer a new hope to tens of thousands of youngsters who need attention before they ever enroll in the first grade…[and help] five million children of poor families overcome their greatest barrier to progress: poverty" ("Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965"). The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was amended in 1968 to include the Bilingual Education Act that offered aid to local districts to help to address the needs of children that had a limited grasp of the English language ("Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965").