Compensatory Education

Background

Since the 1960s, the federal government has taken a leading role in devising and promulgating programs designed to promote equality of opportunity. In the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, (347 U.S. 483, 1954), which determined that separate educational facilities for white and black children were inherently unequal, politicians, teachers, parents, and school administrators were aware of the many disparities among public schools. As the majority of children attended neighborhood schools, and as neighborhoods often reflected the racial discrimination still present in American society, solutions were sought that would provide a better educational experience for low-income students.

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty and since 1965 has served as the single biggest program for U.S. schools. Title I, which currently accounts for nearly $15 billion in funding, was intended as a means to close the fiscal gaps between low- and high-revenue schools within a given state. Although at times Title I funding has seemed endangered, it has been renewed every five years since implementation of the program in 1965.

Programs

Title I funding was soon joined by other compensatory education programs. All of these compensatory education programs were designed to assist “at-risk” children, although how this was defined varied depending upon the program at hand. Programs such as Head Start, designed to assist low-income, traditionally underserved, or language-minority children, seek to provide services and interventions that will help at-risk children to reach their full potential.

In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) strengthened protections for children with disabilities in an effort to ensure that students with special needs receive a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. The EAHCA was later reauthorized and strengthened as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students with an identified disability in one of the following areas qualify for special education services under IDEA:

• Autism
• Behavior disorders
• Deafness/blindness
• Developmental delays
• Emotionally disturbed
• Hearing impairments
• Intellectual impairments (formerly mental retardation)
• Multiple disabilities
• Orthopedic or physical impairments
• Other health impairments (such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
• Specific learning disabilities
• Speech and language disabilities
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Visual impairments

Once a child has been determined to have a disability, a meeting of various school personnel is held to determine an individual education program (IEP) for the child. Depending on the disability, the IEP may focus on compensatory education, provided through either a special day class, a pull-out program, or in-class services.

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