The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Pub.L. 89-10, 79 Stat. 27, 20 U.S.C. ch.70) is a United States federal statute enacted April 11, 1965. The Act is an extensive statute which funds primary and secondary education. As mandated in the Act, the funds are authorized for professional development, instructional materials, resources to support educational programs, and parental involvement promotion. The Act was originally authorized through 1970, however the government has reauthorized the Act every five years since its enactment. The current reauthorization of ESEA is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Sections of the Original 1965 Law

Title I—Financial Assistance For Local Educational Agencies In Areas Affected By Federal Activity
Title II—Financial Assistance To Local Educational Agencies For The Education Of Children Of Low-Income Families
Title III—Supplementary Educational Centers and Services
Title IV—Educational Research And Training
Title V—Grants To Strengthen State Departments Of Education
Title VI—General Provisions

Title I

Title I ("Title One") of the Act is a set of programs set up by the United States Department of Education to distribute funding to schools and school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families.

To qualify as a Title I school, a school typically has around 40% or more of its students that come from families that qualify under the United States Census's definitions as low-income.

Schools receiving Title I funding are regulated by federal legislation, including the No Child Left Behind Act.

Title I funds may be used for children from preschool through high school, but most of the students served (65 percent) are in grades 1 through 6; another 12 percent are in preschool and kindergarten programs.

Title III

Title III of ESEA originally provided matching grants for supplementary education centers (Political Education, Cross 2004).

Title IV

Originally, Title IV of ESEA created a series of research centers and regional educational labs. These labs and centers were intended to "speed the dissemination of improved methods and practice" (Report of the President's Task Force on Education, 1964).

Title V

This section of the original ESEA provided for the strengthening of state departments of education (Political Education, Cross 2004).

Title VII

Added during the 1967 reauthorization of ESEA, Title VII introduced a program for bilingual education. It was championed by Texas Democrat Ralph Yarborough (Political Education, Cross 2004). It is worth noting that Title VII was replaced in the most recent reauthorization of the ESEA, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and is now Title III “Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students.”

Recent reauthorizations

Recent reauthorizations of the Act include:

• Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981
• Improving America's Schools Act of 1994
• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

References

• Resource Page About Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, si.unm.edu
• http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html Title I, Part A Program

• The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 from the New York State Library/Archives/Museum Catalog

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