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Control of Education, State
In the U.S. federal system of government, the states have constitutional authority over education. Historically, states have left the provision of education up to local school districts. However, in recent decades, for both political and financial reasons, the power of states has increased, while autonomy of school districts has shrunk. Most experts believe this trend will continue, although choice schools may signal a movement toward greater autonomy at the building level, and the No Child Left Behind Act has increased federal authority over state school policy.
History of State versus Local Control
From colonial times, public education has been locally governed, even though state constitutions make education a function of state government. The U.S. Constitution does not mention education, so our country, unlike most others, does not have a tradition of centralized control of schools from the national government. Americans' traditional dislike of big government may be one reason for our history of local control of education.
Almost all funds for schools were local, up until the twentieth century. However, as early as the 1820s and 1830s, states created some school funds with revenues from the sale of public land. State legislators began tying distribution of common school funds to state goals, such as requiring certified teachers. In the 1850s, many northern states passed laws requiring, not merely permitting, local districts to tax themselves for schools. Some of these funds were redistributed based on population, but only or mostly to White schools.
Early state laws were permissive, allowing rather than requiring local school districts to organize themselves and levy taxes. Often local practice preceded state laws. For example, most localities taxed themselves for schools before the states required it. For much of our history, government at the state level has been weak, lacking the means of monitoring or coordinating schools, so local communities ran their schools as they saw fit.
Equity, Efficiency, Liberty
The reform of local governance of schools began in the late nineteenth century. By 1900, most cities had replaced their ward-elected school committees with small, centralized boards elected at large. The effect was to further the cause of professional management and decrease the power of non-WASP ethnic groups. Later in the twentieth century, a number of urban decentralization schemes were tried. The rural counterpart to urban governance reform was school district consolidation. States began passing consolidation laws in the 1910s, and the movement continued throughout the rest of the twentieth century. There were 89,000 school districts in the United States in 1948 and 14,000 by 2001.
Philosophically, the bases for state intervention in local schools were equity and efficiency in the provision of education. Over time, all of the states adopted standards regarding curriculum, teacher qualifications, finances, and local school operations. Early in the twentieth century, state standards were aimed at rural school districts, because large city districts were better financed and enjoyed higher quality without state intervention. In the late twentieth century, urban districts performed poorly, and they became the target of state intervention, including in some cases state takeover of districts that were extremely academically deficient or financially bankrupt. Pushed by the courts and by the federal government, states facilitated desegregation, improved financial equity, and mandated services for students with disabilities or disadvantages to ensure that all students had access to quality education. States standardized curriculum and assessment for greater efficiency and accountability.
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