January
President Reagan proposes a $5.5-billion cut in federal education spending--to $14 billion--for FY 1988.
California districts move to take advantage of an unusual new state law allowing them to collect fees on new commercial and residential development.
February
Fall River, Mass., adopts a student-assignment plan believed to be the first in the nation to desegregate primarily on the basis of language, not race.
The Holmes Group meets for the first time as a membership organization representing more than 90 research universities interested in reforming teacher preparation.
After rising for four years, scores on college-entrance tests remained stable in 1986, the Education Department reports in its “wall chart.”
March
School employees impaired by infectious diseases are protected from discrimination by federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court decides.
A federal district judge rules that textbooks used in Alabama schools unconstitutionally promote secular humanism.
The National Commission on Excellence in Educational Administration calls for a thorough overhaul of the training and licensing of school administrators.
A blue-ribbon panel named by Secretary of Education William J. Bennett recommends a major expansion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
The secret to high-quality education is “not in the pocketbook” but in “simple dedication” to basic values, President Reagan tells a conference of educators in Columbia, Mo.
April
The education-reform movement has been “hijacked” by bureaucrats and special interests, Secretary Bennett charges in a speech in San Francisco.
The achievements of the reform movement may be jeopardized by a return to “benign neglect,” argues a study commissioned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The Indiana legislature adopts one of the few major school-reform packages considered by a state in 1987.
A Texas court invalidates the state’s school-finance system.
May
The Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy establishes the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Iowa lawmakers agree to provide families with income-tax credits and deductions for public- and private-school expenses.
U.S. schools must impart the knowledge needed to support “the ideals of a free society,” a group of prominent Americans, including former Presidents Carter and Ford, declares in a joint statement.
A commission headed by the higher-education leader Clark Kerr urges schools to “keep up with a changing world” by adding a global perspective throughout the curriculum.
The House approves a massive bill reauthorizing 14 federal education programs through 1993.
June
The U.S. Supreme Court declares unconstitutional a Louisiana law mandating balanced treatment of evolution and creationism in science classes.
Public-school teachers in New York State cannot be forced to take drug tests as a prerequisite to obtaining tenure, the state’s highest court rules.
Nevada creates an autonomous teacher-licensure board dominated by teachers.
Surgeon General C. Everett Koop warns of a future “explosion” in aids cases among teen-agers.
July
The first “summit meeting” in 20 years of leading groups of English teachers calls for a more “learner centered” approach to instruction.
California adopts an ambitious new curriculum framework for history and social studies.
Gov. George Deukmejian vetoes the extension of California’s bilingual-education act.
August
Rochester, N.Y., teachers reach agreement with the school district on a contract offering them dramatic salary hikes and a major voice in decisionmaking.
Setbacks for fundamentalist Christian parents: Federal appellate courts overturn the Alabama secular-humanism ruling and a 1986 decision allowing Tennessee students to “opt out” of reading classes.
September
A political first: Nine Presidential aspirants meet in Chapel Hill, N.C., to debate educational issues.
A broad policy of early intervention is needed to avoid “creating a permanent underclass of young people,” the Committee for Economic Development warns.
American students display a “shameful” lack of knowledge of history and literature, Diane Ravitch and Chester E. Finn Jr. conclude in What Do Our 17-Year-Olds Know?
Pope John Paul II praises and cautions Catholic educators in a New Orleans address.
School desegregation: A federal judge in Kansas City imposes new taxes to finance an integration plan, and an appellate panel returns control of student assignments to the Boston school district.
Schoolchildren across the country participate in activities marking the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.
October
Pension officials say school-employee retirement funds are sound after a record plunge in the stock market on Oct. 19.
The Environmental Protection Agency approves tough new regulations on asbestos in schools.
The decline in minority enrollment in colleges has reached “alarming proportions,” the American Council on Education warns.
The teacher-attrition rate is at a 25-year low but is likely to rise, the rand Corporation reports.
Secretary Bennett stresses sexual abstinence in a booklet on teaching children about aids.
November
The Council of Chief State School Officers calls on states to “guarantee” school quality for at-risk students.
The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops sharply criticize school health clinics that dispense contraceptives.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics unveils a new “vision” for the K-12 math curriculum.
December
The U.S. Supreme Court leaves unresolved the constitutionality of state moment-of-silence laws.
Normed tests are skewed to find most elementary pupils above average, a study concludes.
Ohio State University loses its federal grant to operate the National Center for Research in Vocational Education.
The omnibus education reauthorization bill passes the Senate.
