Paul Manna, Collision Course: Federal Education Policy Meets State and Local Realities

Paul Manna, Collision Course: Federal Education Policy Meets State and Local Realities (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011)

You may order a copy of this book here.

Reviewed by Kevin R. Kosar

This website is devoted to the history of federal education policy. Manna’s study of the No Child Left Behind Act is not a history of the law.  Those wanting a sense of the political wrangling that produced NCLB ought to look here.  So why bother to mention this book on this website?

Simple—Manna’s book instead focuses on the administration of education policy—a critical and often over-looked part of federal education policy.

Put generally, policy-making and policy analysis are highly regarded in the U.S.  Plenty of universities have well-funded, high profile policy schools that funnel wonks into government. Politicians, meanwhile, may seize the mantle of statesman or law-maker (Solon!) by crafting  sweeping legislation.

School Lunch Poster 1944

War Food Administration Poster, 1944 (Source: NARA)

The National Archives and Records Administration writes:

“In its early years, school lunch was a child welfare program. Later it became a matter of national security. Malnourished children did not grow up to be good soldiers. In 1943 the War Food Administration took over—and dramatically expanded—the federal school lunch program.”

Just two years later, Congress enacted the National School Lunch Act, which directed excess farm products to America’s schools.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act

President William J Clinton signed the Goals 2000 Educate America Act (P.L. 103-227; 108 Stat. 125) on March 31, 1994.

The law had many aspects, not least was its aim to “provide a framework for meeting the National Education Goals,” which included ensuring “all children will start school ready to learn,” a high school graduation rate of “at least” 90%, and more.  All of these goals were to be achieved by the year 2000.

The full text of the Goals 2000 Educate America Act is accessible in the window below, and you also can see and download it at http://www.scribd.com/doc/57939480/Goals-2000-Educate-America-Act.

View this document on Scribd

Department of Education Spending, 1980 to 2010

Figure 1 depicts the billions of dollars in outlays (money spent) by the Department of Education from 1980 to 2010.(1) These expenditures are not adjusted for inflation.(2)

Figure 1. Department of Education Spending 1980-2010 (billions of dollars)

Source: Ronald Reagan and Education Policy.

National Defense Education Act of 1958

The National Defense Education Act of 1958  (P.L. 85-864; 72 Stat. 1580) became law on September 2, 1958.  This federal policy largely targeted collegiate education, authorizing both National Defence Fellowships and loans for students.

The National Defence Education Act (NDEA) also provided funds to state educational agencies for the purposes of improving the teaching of science, mathematics, and “modern foreign languages” (e.g., Russian, not Latin).  Thus, the NDEA was the first major federal foray into K-12 curricula since the Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act of 1917.