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Federalism

Education is the key to our future and that is why it is such an important subject in the United States. Education relates to federalism by interacting with the national government, state governments, and local governments. Each level of government is responsible for improving education within their limits of power.
The national government has been helping to improve and regulate education since 1965 when they passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The main purpose of this act was to help America's disadvantaged students that lived in poverty. The ESEA helped improve education from grades k-12 across the United States for thirty six years. When Congress approached the same program in 2001 it was reauthorized and improved (Exceptional Parent p70). As of 2001 the ESEA became known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This new act sparked an entirely new level in the effectiveness of educational systems. The NCLB's first action was helping the students with the lowest achievement levels to improve academically. The main goal of the NCLB is for every student to obtain proficient math and reading levels by 2014 (Exceptional Parent p70). In order for the NCLB to reach this goal they have set up a list of requirements for the states to follow. All states are required to: develop equally challenging academic standards for each student, ensure the quality of school teachers, regulate the academic progress of students to ensure their math and reading levels meet standards, and to ensure that disabled students have all the tools they require (Exceptional Parent p70). In 2004 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) became in conjunction with the NCLB to ensure the educational liability for special education students (Exceptional Parent p70). The NCLB and IDEA are working together to promote more effective and efficient special education programs to help students. "While NCLB seeks to improve the education of all...

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