Full Circle: Elementary And Secondary Education Act Analysis

When Lyndon Johnson entered the office of President of the United States he knew that the education system needed some changes. So he created the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This act had many parts Lawrence McAndrews and Kathryn Scott recount all the aspects of this act in the article “Full Circle: Elementary and Secondary Education Politics and Policies of Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton”,

“Title I of the Act allocated federal monies to be distributed by state education officials to assist local school district projects directed at ‘educationally deprived children.’…Title II provided for the purchase of textbooks and other materials and the expansion of school libraries for nonpublic and public school children, through public

agencies. Title III earmarked funds for ‘supplemental services and centers’ open to nonpublic as well as public school children. Title IV allocated money to modernize and coordinate federal educational research, and Title V assigned funds to improve state education agencies.” (McAndrews and Scott 2002).
This shows that Lyndon Johnson was not only worried about one group of students but all young learners. Title I helped students whom could not get education otherwise. This could have been because of race, economic status, and/or there location in which they live. Title II provided equal reading opportunities to student whom attended different types of schools. Both of those, now rights, would not be available without Johnson. Imagine walking into a school library and seeing a lack of books that is almost unimaginable in this day and age. The titles that had to do with non-public education had some opposition. Many public school teachers were worried, “The National Education Association, representing most public school teachers and administrators, announced its opposition to additional categorical aid within the ESEA” (2002). Their opposition made sense, if the congress could not raise their funding why should they fund other teachers. Title III also was encompassed within the issue of the government supporting private schools. Title IV and V are both extremely important without strong state education system and research in the field of education school would have never improved. Though his ideas were not all enacted in the manner in which he had envisioned, Lyndon Johnson helped shape the public school system for the better.