State Systems of Education

Abstract

This chapter examines how the responsibility of educational policy is often the greatest at the state level. States within the U.S. educational policy context encompass significant variability. The chapter begins with the history of state control and an overview of different state educational structures. The state often chooses to delegate many of these responsibilities to districts, often called local education agencies (LEAs). Ultimately it is the state’s discretion when it wants to reclaim that authority. Most states develop and govern issues of funding, licensure of personnel, curriculum and testing, governance, standards, and program definition. The chapter discusses the history of state responsibility for education. It considers variation in state structures and the actors within states who influence the education system, including the governors, state legislatures, state boards of education, and chief state school officers. The chapter provides a focus on voting and civil rights and its impact on education. It ends with an examination of the development and spread of Common Core State Standards.