The American Education Historical Timeline From the 1600s through 2000s

The 1600s - Education in Early Colonialism

1607 - The first permanent English Settlement in the United States is founded in Saint Augustine, which
is now known as Florida.

1635 - The Boston Latin School, the first school of its kind, is established. The school was designed for
the sons of wealthy individuals with expectations for leadership positions in church, state, or courts.

1635 - The first free school in Virginia is established. School remains primarily taught at home by
parents.

1636 - Harvard College is established. It is the first higher education institution in the United States
located in Newtowne, which is now known as Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1638 - Hartford Public School opens in Connecticut. It is the second oldest secondary school in America.

1640 - Henry Dunster becomes president of Harvard College and teaches all curriculum himself1642 -
The Massachusetts Bay Law is passed. It requires that parents ensure their children are educated in the
principles of religion and the capital laws of the commonwealth.

------ - Dame schools- a "dame," a well-respected woman with an interest in education, became for a fee,
the community's teacher.

1647 - The Massachusetts Law of 1647, also known as The Old Deluder Satan Act, is passed. It affirms
that every town of at least 50 families are required to hire a schoolmaster to teach the town's children,
also every town that has at least 100 families, should have a Latin grammar school master who will
prepare students to attend Harvard.

1692 - Plymouth Colony merges with Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1693 - The College of William and Mary is established in Virginia. Known for the college of Thomas
Jefferson, it is the second college to open in colonial America.

1698 - The first officially supported library in the United States is established in Charles Town, South
Carolina.

------ - Dame schools- a "dame," a well-respected woman with an interest in education, became for a fee,
the community's teacher.

------ - By the 1700s, private schools and night schools were functioning in Philadelphia and New York,
teaching accounting, French, and Spanish.

1592 - 1670 Comenius- Profiled for his pioneering work in identifying developmental stages of learning,
and for his support of universal education.

The 1700's - A New Nation Shapes American Education

1727 - The Ursuline Academy of New Orleans is founded. It is a Catholic school for girls sponsored by
the sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula. It is the oldest operating school for girls and the old Catholic
school in the United States.

1743 - Benjamin Franklin establishes the American Philosophical Society which helps bring ideas of the
European Enlightenment.

1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1744-1827) Profiled for his recognition of the special needs of the
disadvantaged and his work in circular development.

1749 - Benjamin Franklin penned Proposals Relating to the Youth of Pennsylvania suggesting a new kind
of secondary school to replace the Latin grammar school, the academy.

1751 - Benjamin Franklin helps to establish the first English Academy in Philadelphia both for boys and
girls.
------ - Horace Mann became the nation's leading advocate for the establishment of a common school.
As a result, several normal schools were established in Massachusetts.

1754 - The French and Indian War

1763 - The French and Indian War ends with the Treaty of Paris

1766 - The Moravians from central Europe establish Salem, North Carolina and found a school for girls
which is now known as Salem College.

1775 - The Revolutionary War begins

1776 - The Declaration of Independence is signed on July 4th, written by Thomas Jefferson.

1776 - 1841 Johann Herbert profiled his contributions to moral development in education and for his
creation of a structured methodology of instruction.

1783 - Revolutionary War ends.

1785 - The Land Ordinance of 1785 states that the territories are to set aside land for the maintenance
of public schools.

1787 - 1870 Emma Hart Willard- Profiled for opening the door of higher education to women and for
promoting professional teacher preparation.

1789 - The university of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is chartered by the North Carolina General
Assembly. It is the only public school to award degrees.

The 1800's- Spinsters, Bachelors, Racial and Gender Barriers in Teaching

1817 - The Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons is opened. The
first of its kind in the United States, established by Thomas Hopkins Galludet and Laurent Clerc.

1821 - Boston English Classical School is opened, one of the first public high schools in the United States.
176 students consisting of all boys.

1823 - Catherine Beecher founds the Hartford Female Seminary, a private school for girls in Hartford
Connecticut. She continues to find more schools and becomes a prolific writer.

1827 - Massachusetts passes a law requiring towns with more than 500 people to have a public high
school available to all students.

1836 - The first of William Holmes Readers are published.

1837 - Horace Mann becomes Secretary of the newly formed Massachusetts State Board of Education

1848 - Samuel Gridley Howe helps establish the Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic
Children, the first school of its kind in the United States.

1849 - Elizabeth Blackwell graduates from Geneva Medical Collage. She is the first woman to graduate
from medical school.

1849 - The case of Roberts v City of Boston, the Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that the Boston
Public Schools can deny enrollment to African American children. "Segregation" This case is cited as a
precedent for the Plessy v Ferguson case of 1896.

1851 - The New York State Asylum for Idiots open.

1852 - Massachusetts enacts the first mandatory attendance law. By 1855, 16 states have compulsory
attendance laws and all states have them by 1885.
1853 - Pennsylvania begins funding the Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble- Minded Children, a
school for children with intellectual disabilities.

1855 - The University of Iowa is the first state university to admit men and women on an equal basis.

1856-1915 Booker T Washington is profiled for his contributions to the vocational education of Black
Americans and for establishing Tuskegee University.

1860 - Abraham Lincoln, an anti-slavery individual, is elected as President of the United States.

1861 - Elizabeth Palmer opens the first formal kindergarten school in Boston, Massachusetts.

1861 - The civil war begins with the secession of South Carolina; Educational progress is essentially put
on hold.

1863 - President Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation

1865 - The 13th Amendment is passed abolishing slavery.

1865 - Abraham Lincoln is assassinated and Andrew Jackson, a southern Democrat, and an advocate for
state's rights, becomes President.

1866 - The 14th Amendment is passed by Congress as one of the reconstruction amendments. It would
give all persons born or naturalized in the United States citizenship and equal protection under the law.

1867 - The Department of Education is created to help establish effective school systems.

1867 - Howard University is established in Washington, D. C. to provide education for African American
youth and financially supported by the Freedom Bureau.
1868-1963 W E B Dubois is profiled for cofounding the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), and for his efforts to encourage Black Americans to pursue higher education.

1868 - 14th Amendment is ratified. It guarantees privileges of citizenship including due process and
equal protection under the law including the right to vote for freed male slaves. It becomes the basis for
the rulings in Brown v Board of Education and Pyler v Doe as well as many other important court cases.

1869 - Boston creates the first public day school of the deaf.

1873 - The Panic of 1873 causes bank foreclosures, business failures, and job loss. The economic
depression that follows results in reduced revenues for education and the southern states are hit the
hardest.

1875 - The Civil Rights Act is passed which banned segregation in all public schools in the United States.

1877 - Reconstruction finally ends as Rutherford B. Hayes, the President at the time, removes the last
federal troops from the south. The foundation for a system of legal segregation and discrimination is
taken form.

1883 - The Supreme Courts rules the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional.

1885 - Morris-Brown College opens in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the first educational institution in Georgia
under sole African American patronage.

1890 - The Second Morrill Act is enacted which leads to the funding of 16 historically black colleges.

1892 - The Committee of Ten was founded by The National Education Association to establish a
standard secondary education system and to recommend college-oriented curriculum.

1896 - Plessy v Ferguson- Separate Car Act- argument requiring Blacks to ride in separate railroad cars
violates the 13th and 14th Amendments. It becomes a legal precedent used to justify many other
segregation laws, including a "separate but equal education."
1897 - The National Congress of Mothers is founded by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson
Hearst. It becomes the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA).

1898 - The Spanish American War makes United States a superpower and Theodore Roosevelt a hero.

The 1900's, Educational Reform

1900 - The Association of American Universities is founded to promote higher standards and put U. S.
schools on the same level as European schools.

1904 - Mary McLeod Bethune founds the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro
Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida which merges with the Cookman Institute in 1923 that has evolved from
a high school into the now Bethune Cookman University.

1905 - Alfred Binet's New Methods for the Diagnosis of the Intellectual Level of Subnormal's is published
in France. He along with Theodore Simon developed this as a measurement that would identify
students with mental retardation. It is now known as the Binet-Simon Scale. The School Board
authorizes the creation of junior high schools. Indianola Junior High School opens that fall and is the
first in the United States.

1911 - Maria Montessori opens the first Montessori school in Tarrytown, New York.

1916 - The intelligence quotient is born when Louis M, Terman and his team at Stanford University
complete an American version of the Binet-Simon Scale.

1917 - The Smith Hughes Act is passed providing funding for agricultural and vocational education. It is
repealed in 1997.

1917 - United States enter World War I.

1918 - World War I end on 11 November

1919 - The Treaty of Versailles is signed which plants the seeds for World War II due to its terms being
flawed.

1919 - The Progressive Education Association is founded with the goal of reforming American education.

1919 - All states have laws providing funds for transportation to school.

1920 - The 19th Amendment is ratified, giving women the right to vote.

1922 - The International Council for Exceptional Children is founded at Columbia University Teachers
College.

1926 - The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is administered for the first time. It is based off the Army
Alpha Test.

1928 - The Meriam Report: The Problem of Indian Administration, is overly critical of conditions on
Indian reservations and in Indian boarding schools.

1929 - Jean Piaget's The Child's Conception of the World is published. His theory of cognitive
development becomes an important influence in American Development psychology and education.

1941 - The U. S. enters World War II after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on December 7th. Education is
once again put on the back burner because funds are directed towards war efforts.

1944 - G. I. Bill of Rights officially known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, is signed by
Franklin Delano Roosevelt on June 22nd, and 7.8 million World War II veterans take advantage of the G I
Bill when it is offered.

1945 - War World II ends with victory over Japan.

1946 - Mendez v Ca Board of Education rules in the District Court in Los Angeles that educating children
of Mexican descent in separate facilities is unconstitutional, thus prohibiting segregation in California
schools and setting an important precedent for Brown v Board of Education.

1946 - The President's Commission on Higher Education is given the task of reexamining the role of
colleges and universities in post- war era.

1946 - Congress passes the National School Lunch Act.

1947 - Everson v Board of Education ruled that reimbursement of transportation costs to parents of
children who rode public transportation to school even if the child attended a Catholic school, did not
violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

1953 - Burrhus Frederic Skinner, writer of Science and Human Behavior, is published. It emphasized
changes in behavior due to reinforcement. It becomes widely accepted and still influences many
aspects of American education today.

1954 - May 17th the Supreme Court rules on the Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, stating separate
facilities of education are inherently unequal, thus overturning the Plessy v Ferguson ruling.

1956 - 12 African American students, known as the Clinton 12, successfully integrates Clinton High
school in Clinton, Tennessee.

1957 - The Civil Rights Act of 1957 is voted into law and is the precursor to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the Voting Rights Act of 965.

1957 - The Soviet Union launches the Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth. A blow to American
educational pride, and to American homeland security.

1958 - NDEA, The National defense Education Act is passed which authorizes increased funding for
scientific research as well as science, mathematics, and foreign language education.

1959 - The ACT is first administered.

1961 - A.S. Neil's work titled Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing, is published.

1962 - Engle v Vitale- The U S Supreme Court rules that the state of New York's Regents prayer violates
the First Amendment.

1963 - Samuel A Kirk uses the term " learning disability" at a Chicago conference on children with
perceptual disorders.

1964 - The Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, now called the Learning Disabilities
Association is formed.

1965 - The Elementary and Secondary Act or the ESAE Act, is signed which provides federal funds to help
low-income students, which results in the initiation of educational programs such as Tile I and bilingual
education.

1965 - President Johnson signs the Manpower Training Act on April 16th.

1965 - The Higher Education Act is signed at Southwest Texas College on the 8th of November, which
increases the federal aid to higher education and provides for scholarships, student loans, and
establishes a National Teachers Corp.

1965 - Project Head Start, for low-income preschoolers begins.

1965 - The Immigration Act of 1965- It abolishes the national origins Formula and results in
unprecedented numbers of Asians and Latin Americans immigrating to the United States, making
America's classrooms more diverse.

1966 - The Equality of Educational Opportunity Study also called the Coleman Report penned by author
James S. Coleman. Is conducted. It concluded that African American children benefit from attending
integrated schools sets the stage for school busing to achieve segregation.
1968 - The Bilingual Education Act, also known as Title VII, becomes law. In 2002 the law is replaced
with the No Child Left Behind Act.

1969 - Tinker v Des Moines, The U S Supreme Court ruled that students' First Amendment rights were
violated when they were suspended for wearing black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War.

1970 - the book DE schooling Society by Ivan Illich sharply criticizes traditional schools and calls for the
end of compulsory school attendance.

1970 - Jean Piaget's book, The Science of Education, is published. His Learning Cycle Model helps to
popularize discovery-based teaching approaches, particularly in the sciences.

1972 - Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 becomes law, which prohibited discrimination
based on sex in all aspects of education.

1973 - U. S. involvement in Vietnam War ends on January 27th.

1973 - Marian Wright Edelman founds the Children's defense Fund, a non-profit child advocacy
organization.

1973 - The Rehabilitation Act- Section 504 of this act guarantees civil rights for people with disabilities in
the context of federally funded institutions and requires accommodations in schools including
participation in programs and activities as well as access to buildings. Today 504 plans are used to
provide accommodations for students with disabilities who do not qualify for IEP plans.

1974 - Case of Lau v Nichols the Supreme Court ruled that the failure of the San Francisco School District
to provide English language instruction to Chinese American students with limited English proficiency
(IEP) is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1974 - The Equal Educational Opportunities Act is passed. It prohibits discrimination and requires
schools to take action to overcome barriers which prevent equal protection.
1975 - The Education of All Handicapped Children Act becomes federal law. It requires a free and
appropriate public education sited to The National Association of Bilingual Education is founded.

1980 - The Refugee Act of 1980 is signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on March 18th. Expanding
on the Immigration Act of 1965, it reformed the immigration law to admit refugees for humanitarian
reasons and resulted in the settlement of over 3 million refugees in the United States, which included
many children.

1981 - John Holt's book, Teach Your Own: A Hopeful Path for Education, adds momentum to the
homeschooling movement.

1982 - Edwards v Aguillard case, the US Supreme court invalidates Louisiana's "Creationism Act" which
requires the teaching of creationism whenever evolution is taught, because it violates the Establishment
clause of the 1st Amendment.

1982 - Madeline C. Hunter's book Mastery Teaching is published. It becomes widely used as teachers
throughout the country attend her workshops.

1983 - A Nation at Risk, a report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, calls for reform
in public education and teacher training. It recommended the expansion of high school requirements to
include the study of computer science.

1983 - Columbia College begins admitting women. This is the last ivy league school to integrate.

1984 - Public Law 105- The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act is passed with the
goal of increasing the quality of vocational and technical education in the U. S.

1985 - Wallace v Jaffree- the Supreme Court finds that Alabama statutes authorizing silent teacher led
prayer in schools is a violation of the First Amendment.

1986, Christa McAuliffe is chosen by NASA from among 11000 applicants to be the first teacher
astronaut, but her mission ends tragically when the Space shuttle named The Challenger, explodes.
1986 - Reports from the Carnegie Forum on Education along with the Holmes Group, recommends
changes in teacher in teacher education and the teaching profession.

1990 - IDEA- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, renames the Public Law. It changed the
term handicap to disability, and it mandates for transition services.

1990 - The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), becomes law. It prohibits the discrimination of
individuals with disabilities in all aspects.

1990 - Teach for America is formed reestablishing the idea of a National Teachers Corp.

1990 - The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 is enacted and increase the annual immigration to
700,000 adding to the diversity of our nation and its schools.

1991 - Minnesota establishes the first charter school.

1993 - The Massachusetts Education Reform Act was passed that required a common curriculum and
statewide tests.

1994 - The Improving America's School Act is signed into law and it reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965 and
includes reform for Title I. It increased funding for bilingual and immigrant education.

1996 - James Bank's book, Multicultural Education: Transformative Knowledge and Action, makes an
important contribution to the growing body of scholarship regarding multiculturalism in education.

1996 - The Illegal Immigration and Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 is signed into law
on September 30th. It prohibits the states from offering higher education benefit based on residency
within a state to undocumented immigrants unless the benefit is available to any U.S. citizen or national.
This law, however, is still conflicted.

The 2000's, The Dawn of Technology and American Education

2000 - Diane Ravitch published her book titled Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms. It
criticized the progressives' educational policies and argued for a more traditional and academic
approach.

2000 - Santa Fe School District v Doe the Supreme Court ruled that the district's policy of allowing
student-led prayer prior to football games violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

2001 - No Child Left Behind Act is approved by Congress and signed into law by President George W.
Bush. It reauthorized the ESEA of 1965 and replaced the Bilingual Education Act of 1968.

2004 - The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) reauthorizes and modifies IDEA.
Had several modifications in it, one in which included modifications in the IEP process.

2007 - The American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) became the American Association of
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), also changing mental retardation to intellectual
disability.

2007 - Meredith v Jefferson County Board of Education- The US Supreme Court ruled that race cannot
be a factor in assigning students to high schools, thus rejecting integration plans in Seattle and Louisville,
affecting similar school districts around the nation.

2008 - The Higher Education Opportunity Act is passed and amends the Higher Education Act with major
changes to student loan eligibility requirements to people with cognitive disabilities as well as other
federal financial aid programs.

2015 - Every Student Succeeds Act is Passed