1969 - Herbert R. Kohl's book, The Open Classroom, helps to promote open education, an approach emphasizing student-centered classrooms and active, holistic learning. The conservative "back to the basics" movement of the late 1970s begins at least partially as a backlash against open education. .
1969 - On April 30th, the number of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam stands at 543,482, the most at any time during the war. College enrollments swell as many young men seek student deferments from the draft; anti-war protests become commonplace on college campuses, and grade inflation begins as professors realize that low grades may change male students' draft status.
1970 - Four students are killed by Ohio National Guard troops on May 15th during an anti-war protest at Kent State University in Ohio.
1970 - Jean Piaget's book, The Science of Education, is published. His Learning Cycle model helps to popularize discovery-based teaching approaches, particularly in the sciences.
1971 - In the case of Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Pennsylvania, the federal court rules that students with mental retardation are entitled to a free public education.
1972 - The case of Mills v. the Board of Education of Washington, D.C. extends the PARC v. Pennsylvania ruling to other students with disabilities and requires the provision of "adequate alternative educational services suited to the child's needs, which may include special education . . ." Other similar cases follow. Ê
1972 - Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 Êbecomes law. Though many people associate this law only with girl's and women's participation in sports, Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in all aspects of education.Ê Ê Ê
1973 - U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ends on January 27. More than 58,000 U.S. service personnel are killed in action during the war. The fighting continues until April 30, 1975 when South Vietnam surrenders to the communist North Vietnamese forces. Ê Ê
1974 - Federal Judge Arthur Garrity orders busing of African American students to predominantly white schools in order to achieve racial integration of public schools in Boston, MA. White parents protest, particularly in South Boston.
1975 - The Education of All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) becomes federal law. It requires that a free, appropriate public education, suited to the student's individual needs, and offered in the least restrictive setting be provided for all "handicapped" children. States are given until 1978 (later extended to 1981) to fully implement the law.
1982 - Madeline C. Hunter's book, Mastery Teaching, is published. Her direct instruction teaching model becomes widely use as teachers throughout the country attend her workshops and become "Hunterized."
1983 - The report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk, calls for sweeping reforms in public education and teacher training.
1990 - Public Law 101-476, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), renames and amends Public Law 94-142. In addition to changing terminology from handicap to disability, it mandates transition services and adds autism and traumatic brain injury to the eligibility list.
1993 - Jacqueline and Martin Brooks' In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms is published. It is one many books and articles describing constructivism, a view that learning best occurs through active construction of knowledge rather than its passive reception. Constructivist learning theory, with roots such as the work of Dewey, Bruner, Piaget, and Vygotsky, becomes extremely popular in the 1990s. Ê Ê ÊÊ
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
2000 - Diane Ravitch's book, Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, criticizes progressive educational policies and argues for a more traditional, academically-oriented education. Her views, which are reminiscent of the "back to the basics" movement of the late 1970s and 1980s, are representative of the current conservative trend in education and the nation at large.
2001 - The controversial No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is signed into law by President George W. Bush. The law, which reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965, holds schools accountable for student achievement levels and provides penalties for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward meeting the goals of NCLB.
2004 - H.R. 1350, The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA 2004), reauthorizes and modifies IDEA . Changes, which take effect on July 1, 2005, include modifications in the IEP process andÊ procedural safeguards, increased authority for school personnel in special education placement decisions, and alignment of IDEA with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.