Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

ESEA was passed in 1965 and replaced the previous National Defense Education Act as the federal legislation that authorizes expenditures for elementary and secondary schools. This legislation was at the center of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs and was targeted specifically at providing educational opportunity to economically disadvantaged children, with Title I being the cornerstone of the legislation. It is worth noting that ESEA was passed at a time when pressure from counterculture groups was high (especially concerning the War in Vietnam), and the legislation reflected this cultural context of populist democracy. ESEA was reauthorized about every [Page 124]5 years, each time being amended and broadened in scope. Over time, ESEA was elaborated to expand target populations and topics and include bilingual education, migrant education, ...