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Running head: THE EVOLVING ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN EDUCATION The Evolving Role of Government in Education Cozette Griffin Grand Canyon University Dr. Anderson EDU 310 August 1, 2010 The Evolving Role of Government in Education The time has come for everyone to take a role in planning, supporting and inspiring education. The role of the state and federal government in the United State is that the federal government, the state and the churches play a great role in education. The government has many roles in education. Education is primarily a state and local responsibility in the United States (. U. S. epartment of Education, Ed. gov). The government encourages adults to get their full learning and works with others departments to develop school infrastructure and schools skills to meet the needs of growth areas. The government’s main aim in education is to raise standards in schools. The government wants parents to be able to choose a good school, matching what they want for their child and what a school offers. The government has expanded and encouraged schools and colleges to specialize in particular subjects, languages and technology. Education is paid for and administrated by government bodies.
The government department faculties employ a wide range of teaching strategies and offer a variety of learning (Oppapers). The federal government does get indirectly involved with public education through the series of legislative action such as the NCLBA. The federal government allocates funding to states based on the number of students with special needs (GCU Lecture). The federal government includes funds not only from the Department of Education. ,but also from other federal agencies, such as the department of Health and Human Services Head Start programs and the Department of Agriculture School lunch program (Education. ov U. S. Department of Education). The federal government role in education, has grown the department mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. The department carries out its mission in the following ways: (1) the secretary and the department play a leadership role in the ongoing national dialogue on how to improve the results of our education system for all students. 2) The department pursues its twin goals of access and excellence through the administration of programs that cover every area of education and range for preschool education through postdoctoral (ED. govU. S. Department of Education). The law that had an impact on United State Education is the tenth amendment to the U. S. Constitution which states, “The powers not delegated to the United State by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the state respectively, or to the people. The Supreme Court has not declared that education is a fundamental interest.
The state has absolute power in the area of education. The state has plenary power to enact status concerning education as long as these statues do not violate the provisions of the United States Constitutions (Russell Dennis). The Stone V. Graham of (1980) is one case that had an impact on United States education. The issue was whether a state requiring the posting of a copy of the Tenth Commandments, purchased with private contributions, on the wall of each public classroom in the state violates the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment.
The No Child Left behind (NCLB) really has an impact on the education system. This law was signed by President Georg Bush in January 2002. This law aimed to ensure that all students, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, would have the opportunity for a solid education. This act mandates that all teachers must be “highly qualified” This means that a teacher must meet the license and certification requirements of the state in which they teach. If a teacher does not meet the mandatory requirements they will not be able to teach (Grace Chen).
The purpose of the No Child Left behind Act will provide school districts with more funding in the form of NCLB bonuses, as long as those schools are achieving the standards set by No Child Left Behind. The NCLBA will also allow states and school districts more flexibility in the use of their resources, hold school districts and individual schools accountable for their results, give parents “report cards” grading the schools in their school districts so they can see which schools in their neighborhoods are succeeding, provide extra help with learning, offer school choice and ncourage parental involvement (According to the U. S. Department of Education). If schools that are found lacking fail to improve each and every year, a school improvement plan will be implemented. If the school still fails to improve after a plan has been implemented, the school may be subject to state takeover (Grace Chen). The church- state debate has also influenced public education, the separation of church and state has become one of the most misunderstood concepts in today’s political, legal and religious debates.
The separation of church and state ensures that private citizens, when acting in the role of some government official, cannot have any aspect of their private religious beliefs imposed upon others. School teachers can not promote their religion to other people’s children (Austin Cline). The government leaders cannot make members of other religions feel like they are unwanted nor are second-class citizens by using their position to promote particular religious belief.
The separation of church and state states that it protects all people for the religious tyranny of any one religious group or tradition, it protects all people from a government intent on tyrannizing some or any religious groups(Austin Cline). References American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed. ). Washington, DC: Author. Author, A. A. , Author, B. B. , & Author, C. C. (2004). Title of article. Title of Periodical, vol(issue), pages. Author, A. A. (2005). Title of work. Location: Publisher. Davis, Derek H. The Ten Commandments as Public Ritual.
Journal of Church & State; spring 2002, Vol. 44 Issue 2, P221, 8P ISSN: 0021969X: Database: Academic Search Premier What is the Separation of Church and State was retrieved on July 22, 2010 at: http://www. atheism. about. com/od/churchestate101/a/what. htm Stone v. Graham (Supreme Court, 1980) was retrieved July 21, 2010 at: http://www. atheism. aboout. com/Church State Main Role of the Government in Education was retrieved on July 22, 2010 at: http://www. oppapers. com/essays/main-role/207191 The Federal Role in Education was retrieved on July 21, 2010 at: http://www2. ed. ov/about/overwiew/fed/role. /html The Role of the Government in Public Education in the US was retrieved on July 23, 2010 at: http://www. departments. bucknell. ed/edu/ed370/staterole. htm. GCU Lectures McCarthy, Martha, Beyond the Wall of Separation: Church-State Concerns in Public Schools Phi Delta Kappa; Jun 2009, Vol. 90 Issue 10, P714-719, 6P, 1 Color Photograph ISSN: 00331727, Database: Academic Search Premier Orlich, Donald C, No Child Left Behind Clearing House; Sep Oct 2004, Vol. 78 Issue 1, p6-11, 6p ISSN: 00098655 Databases: Academic Search Premier