Chapter 7: Federal Curriculum Policy In The States

In the United States, the federal government has historically played a limited role in the provision of public education. In particular, decisions on curriculum and teaching have remained solely under the jurisdiction of state and local governments. The No Child Left Behind law of 2001, however, contains preliminary evidence that the federal government has increasingly become involved in the prescription of curriculum. Two federal programs contained in the law—the Reading First program and the Teaching American History program— contain highly detailed prescriptions of what should be taught. This chapter attempts to understand how reading and American history policies “came to Washington” given the American tradition of local control. The chapter then goes on to discuss the implications of a new federal curriculum policy in terms of resource allocation, capacity, and implementation in the states.