2
Introduction
The school reform movement that culminated in the 2002 No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) law fundamentally reshaped the federal role in K-12 education. The original federal
role outlined in the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act was narrowly targeted on
disadvantaged students, focused on school inputs, and contained few federal mandates.
NCLB, on the other hand, applies to all schools and students, is focused on school outputs,
and is remarkably prescriptive. It mandates, among other things, that all states adopt
standards, testing, disclosure, teacher quality, and accountability measures as a condition of
receiving federal funds. This expanded federal presence in schools is likely here to stay as
education policy is now widely considered—by the American public and key elements of both
major political parties—to be an important federal responsibility. Despite the continued
opposition of some liberal and conservative groups, NCLB passed with broad and bi-partisan
support from politicians and the general public, signifying that after almost two decades of
contentious partisan conflict over education a new consensus has been reached.
The development of such a sizable and reform-oriented federal role in education is
remarkable when placed in the context of the nation’s history of decentralized school
governance. It is also extraordinary given the longstanding opposition of conservatives and
states’ rights advocates to federal influence over schools, the desire of most liberals to keep
the federal role narrowly focused on providing funds for disadvantaged students, and the
widespread push for deregulation and privatization that dominated the national policymaking
climate in the 1980s and 1990s. The major expansion and transformation of the federal role is
also surprising when considered in light of the large body of political science literature that
emphasizes the path dependence of policies, the many institutional obstacles to policy change,
Convention