ESEA, An Endangered Species: Integrated Public Education Is Gasping For Air

The Elementary Secondary Education Act was signed into law April 11, 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of his War on Poverty.  ESEA was originally supposed to be re-authorized every 5 years. It was overhauled and reauthorized in 2001 by the George W. Bush administration. Bush renamed the Act No Child Left Behind or NCLB. NCLB has been under attack ever since. States felt that impossible goals were written into the Act. In other words, many people thought that Bush set us all up for failure. (That idea is debatable. I wonder why the mandate to have all students Reading and Writing at 100%  by 2014 was not changed to a more reasonable objective without chucking the entire project. I mean, it is not like everyone followed the dictates of NCLB anyway. Regardless of what they said, I know that most folks never complied with many of the mandates that were designed to help students succeed. This practice will not change with the waivers, because the problem has always been that the Government sets up scenarios that they will never enforce.) President Obama's Administration has given waivers to over half the states in the Union including New Jersey. The average American wants to know how this affects them.

Districts with more than 40% free and reduced lunch children are considered Title I and are the recipients of federal funds under ESEA. Englewood has roughly 70% free and reduced lunch so our district receives Title I funds. Think of it this way, if your child receives free and reduced lunch at school, they qualify for help from the Federal Government. This includes tutoring, lunches, breakfast and other services and programs that aid students in completing high school, going to college and finding a career. If your children have special needs and/or are English Language Learners, they also benefit from these funds.

• Children of poverty.
• Children in rural areas.
• children who are Native Americans.
• children who are neglected and delinquent
• children who are migrants
• children who are homeless
• children who are learning English
• children impacted by disasters
• children who are disabled.

Some states, including good old New Jersey have created waivers that exempt them from many of the mandates of ESEA. The students that ESEA was designed to help may end up suffering in the name of reform. An Example...from Englewood.  Paraprofessionals were a valued part of the pupil support system. The Waiver gives districts and RACs more freedom in the allocation of Title I funds.

A little history of The Elementary Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) 
Follow some of the links below in order to learn about ESEA and the way it was. That way, it will be easier to understand what is being taken away.

• The Actual Public Law signed April 11, 1965  :  A lot of Americans fought for the establishment of the Elementary Secondary Education Act. Civil Rights Activities prior to the signing of this Act had a great deal of influence.
• ESEA - Frequently Asked Questions about ESEA or No Child Left Behind. Simply reading the questions that others have asked will help one understand.
• Wikipedia - simplified version
• The Social Welfare History Project: A Summary
• Title I: Amendments to the Elementary Secondary Education Act of 1965    Archived: Improving America's Schools 1994
• Digitized ESEA Documents: 1965 - 2001 Links on this page provide access to the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as well as key re-authorizations and amendments.  
• National Alliance For Partnerships in Equity
• African American Voices in Congress
• A TIMELINE FOR THE EDUCATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES: 1600-2007
• ESEA Reauthorization Policy Brief
• Speakers of Other Languages Who Are Limited in Their English Proficiency
• American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline
• Legislation and Funding for the Education Of Children Who are Disadvantaged

This is the Obama Administrations proposal for Improvement of ESEA?

• An Overview of the ESEA Flexibility Waiver from the White House
• Text of New Jersey's Waiver Request
• Education Transformation Task Force Final Report
• Regional Achievement Centers
• College and Career Readiness Task Force Final Report
• Higher Education Technology Task Force Final Report

ESEA may be interpreted as a type of financial aid for Elementary and Secondary students. Every household is required to fill out the form that qualifies students for free and reduced lunch. Keep in mind that some families never fill out this long and cumbersome form that may be considered prying into a household's private affairs. This means that some families are not even counted in the poll. Add this to the fact that some districts, including Englewood have gone paperless and a significant amount of homework assignments are posted on online.

I was a working high school student. I left school at twelve thirty and worked until 8 pm. I lived with a grandmother who could barely read and write. I earned my keep by helping her pay the rent and buy grocery. I would not have been able to attend college without financial aid. My education was paid for by the Federal Government. (by the taxpayers) In my years as a teacher, I never forgot that. I worked later hours without coercion and I gave back. I am still giving back. I know a lot of people my age who feel the same way about the program that funded our education. It was a hard road to a college degree even with the aid from the government. I never thought of it as a handout. It was more like a hand up. I did the rest myself with a child strapped to my back, literally. The President of the State Board of Education was also an Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) student. You would be surprised at the number of people who have a little Title I in their backgrounds.