1647 Massachusetts becomes the first colony to establish public schools (to the secondary school level.) 1790 Pennsylvania state constitution calls for free public education but only for poor children. It is expected that rich people will pay for their children's schooling. 1805 New York Public School Society formed by wealthy businessmen to provide education for poor children. Schools are run on the "Lancasterian" model, in which one "master" can teach hundreds of students in a single room. The …showed first 75 words of 631 total…

…showed last 75 words of 631 total…G.I. Bill of Rights gives thousands of working class men college scholarships for the first time in U.S. history. 1954 The Supreme Court rules that segregated schools are unconstitutional. 1974 Milliken v. Bradley. A Supreme Court made up of Richard Nixon's appointees rules that schools may not be desegregated across school districts. This effectively legally segregates students of color in inner-city districts from white students in wealthier white suburban districts. 1979 Department of education is founded.