FOREWORD This report was prepared at the request of Senator John Sherman Cooper, chairman of the Subcommittee on Education, for the use of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The purpose is to provide the committee information requested for consideration in connection with certain pending bills. The report briefly describes the currently effective Federal programs which give aid to States and local school districts for elementary and secondary education. The study also points out certain facts which have an important bearing upon a consideration of these programs in relation to pending legislative proposals. The report was prepared by Charles A. Quattlebaum, principal specialist in education on the staff of the Legislative Reference Service. Appreciation is expressed to Clayton D. Hutchins, specialist in school finance in the United States Office of Education, and to the several other persons in the executive branch of the Government who contributed source material and constructive comment. ERNEST S. GRIFFITH, Director, Legislative Reference Service. National-forest revenue for schools and roads.. Other Federal funds for schools.. Page FEDERAL AID TO STATES AND LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION 1. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TERM "FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION" As very widely used throughout the United States, and in this report, the term "Federal aid to education" refers primarily to Federal revenue made available to States and local school districts for the support of education. There is no authoritative or complete agreement on the significance of this term, its inclusions and exclusions. The term "Federal aid" is employed in the title of this report because of its widespread acceptance. Its usage here requires, however, an acknowledgment of the fact that many persons have objected to the connotations of this term. Objections have been made on the grounds that the word "aid" implies that the Federal Government is giving away something. Many persons contend that the Federal Government inherently bears an obligation to participate in the financing of education, which they consider essential to the discharge of the Federal responsibility for the national defense and for the promotion of the general welfare. It is clear that not all of the Federal programs described in this report represent "Federal aid to education" with respect to either basic purpose or philosophy. However, all of these programs do give some aid to States and local school districts for the advancement of elementary and secondary education. In most cases whether the program should be regarded as intrinsically one of "Federal aid to education" is a matter of opinion. The underlying purposes and philosophies of the programs are important considerations. A more important consideration, however, is the fact that these programs, taken together, represent what the Federal Government is already doing in the nature of promoting education in the nation's elementary and secondary schools. 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CURRENT PROGRAMS A short review of the history of Federal activities in the field of education, especially at the elementary and secondary levels, affords a basis for an understanding of the programs presently in effect at these levels. From the time of its inception the Federal Government has engaged in two types of educational activities: (1) Aiding the States and Territories in financing and otherwise promoting education, and (2) operating its own educational programs. Both of these types of activities antedate the Constitution. Both have included education at the elementary and secondary levels. Federal aid to the States for education has its origin in early congressional grants of Federal lands for the endowment of the com |