Special Education

For greater or worse, here are the top 12 presidents to impact American education.

12. Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

In 1994, President Clinton signed the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. The Objectives 2000 plan was ambitious, setting targets such as the “United States students will be initial in the world in mathematics and science achievement.” Even though a lot of of the goals set forth in the law have not yet been achieved, some experts really feel that Objectives 2000 a precursor to President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind program.

11. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

In the course of the late 19th century, white southerners passed state laws that made literacy a prerequisite for voting. The Harrison administration supported the Blair Education Bill, providing federal aid to teach literacy to blacks living in the south. Though Harrison’s education bill encountered resistance from Congress and never became law, it became clear that education would be an essential component of racial equality.

10. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

Like civil rights, the economy is often tied to education. Such was the case with the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, which President Truman signed into law in 1946. This legislation was designed to simultaneously boost profits for farmers even though providing low-cost or free meals to schoolchildren in want. Due to the program’s success, it was expanded two decades later.

9. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

Even though president of Princeton University, Wilson attempted to do away with the elite eating clubs where the school’s well-to-do students usually congregated. It makes sense, then, that Wilson would turn out to be one of the 1st US presidents (perhaps the very first) to successfully enact a federal aid package for education. Before federal funding, schools were funded exclusively at state and local levels. Wilson’s ideas for federal funding would influence numerous subsequent presidents.

8. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

President Johnson was the first president to officially mandate federal intervention in education. He established the initial Department of Education in 1867, but his new department failed to take root. After the Civil War, US citizens had been frightened by the perceived boost in federal power at the price of states’ rights. By 1868, Johnson’s Department of Education downgraded to the much less effective Office of Education.

7. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

By the late 1960s, school integration in the south had slowed substantially in the post-Brown v. Board of Ed era. President Nixon addressed this problem soon after taking office. By 1970, less than 20% of black students attended an all-black school.  Nixon also signed the Education Amendments of 1972. This legislation is very best recognized for Title IX, which needs all federally-funded schools to offer equal education &amp sports opportunities for girls and boys.

6. Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969)

Despite a military conflict in Vietnam, President Johnson enacted two impressive education policies. He produced the Head Begin program, which has served more than 22 million children because its inception in 1965. Johnson, a former teacher, also managed to secure federal aid for elementary and secondary schools – including parochial institutions.  By signing the Child Nutrition Act into law, Johnson also expanded Truman’s School Lunch Act.

5. Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

Although skeptical that the needed programs could be correctly funded, Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Youngsters Act of 1975 into law. This legislation, now referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, continues to provide guidelines and funding to states for the education of unique requirements youngsters.

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

By 1940, FDR’s Works Progress Administration “had erected 4,383 new school buildings and made repairs and additions to over 30,000 others,” according to Jim Couch of the University of North Alabama on EH.Net.  In addition to those impressive statistics, Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, which is far more commonly recognized as the GI Bill. The GI Bill helped millions of soldiers received vocational training and college educations.

three. George W. Bush (2001-2009)

As most modern teachers know, President Bush’s major legacy in education is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This law, signed by Bush in early 2002, focuses on issues such as education standards, test scores and school choice. Despite the fact that some scholars say it is too early to tell if No Child Left Behind has been effective, several of today’s professional educators argue that this far-reaching law is both poorly written and underfunded.

2. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

In 1859, Congress passed a bill known as the Morrill Land-Grant Act, but President James Buchanan vetoed the bill. After Lincoln took office, he signed a revised version of the bill into law in 1862. The Morrill Land-Grant Act provided federal land to each state, to be utilized in the creation of institutions of higher studying. Right now, 76 land-grant universities are still educating American college students.

1. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)

In his two terms as president, Eisenhower laid the foundation of federal participation in education as we know it today. Eisenhower developed the cabinet-level Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Decades later, President Carter split that department in two, creating today’s Department of Education.

Fueled by Cold War competition, Eisenhower infused tremendous federal funds into education. After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, Americans worried that the US was falling behind in areas such as science and mathematics. In response, Eisenhower enacted the National Defense Education Act of 1958. This legislation supplied additional funding for all levels of education, gave cash to some private institutions, and guaranteed that every state would continue to manage its own education system.

President Eisenhower also enforced the desegregation of schools following the Supreme Court’s 1954 choice in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In 1 instance, Eisenhower sent troops to escort 9 black students into their all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

If you’d like to understand a lot more about presidents in education, I’d suggest Maurice Berube’s American Presidents and Education.