Let’s pause to reflect on the 55 years of American presidential history that has influenced higher education since the inauguration of Southwestern College in 1961.
When SWC was on the drawing board in 1959, our president was Dwight D. Eisenhower, a general who led the allied forces in World War II. He influenced school curriculums at all levels, including Southwestern College, by launching the National Defense Education Act, which was his way of creating student interest in science for much-needed government research programs like NASA.
After John F. Kennedy‘s assassination, his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, led the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Johnson then signed into law the Higher Education Act of 1965, empowering the federal government to support colleges and universities to give students educational resources and grant financial aid.
Gerald Ford took over in an era of high crime and higher inflation. Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975, which required public schools to serve students with disabilities. Later, the EHA was renamed as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
In 1979, Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Education Reorganization Act, creating the Department of Education as a cabinet-level agency with a $14 billion budget to oversee improvement of education, enforce the civil rights of students and provide financial aid. When Ronald Reagan campaigned for president in 1980, he vowed to shut down the Department of Education. He was blocked by Congress and later came to admit he made a mistake.
“Too many people viewed the world the way they wanted it to be, rather than the way it really is,” Reagan said.
President Bill Clinton signed the Goals 2000: Educate America Act in 1994, allocating funds for urgent school renovations, after-school programs, nationwide college preparation efforts and doubled student financial aid. Reading and math scores increased nationwide and more high school graduates were going to college during the Clinton presidency.
George W. Bush’s legacy was the No Child Left Behind Act, which he signed into law in 2002. The law held districts and schools accountable for the achievement of their students by making standardized testing the main measuring stick for student success. Teachers and schools complained that this law offered no flexibility to the teachers.
In 2015, Barack Obama improved on his predecessor’s work by signing the Every Student Succeeds Act. This allowed states to choose their own goals to address the proficiency of testing and graduation rates. If a school is at the bottom of the proficiency list, states and districts must identify and monitor it until it improves. Obama increased the Department of Education budget to $77 billion and awarded community colleges $500 million for distance-learning and on-campus support for students pursuing technical careers such as geospatial information systems at SWC.
The Obama administration also launched the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, calling for an end to all harsh corporal punishments in U.S. schools.
The Trump administration chose to rescind the Obama-era guidance on school discipline. Trump, mirroring Reagan, has pledged to slim down the size of the Department of Education. In 2017, the Senate voted 50-49 to block the accountability rules for the Every Student Succeeds Act. The department’s budget has also been brought down to $68 Billion as of 2018.
Reagan’s words sure ring true these days: Whatever the future is, presidents, come and go. Each leaves their mark on the history of higher education as decades pass by. Laws inevitably shape our education based on how American presidents choose to lead. As SWC continues to expand, remember the journey is not over. There will always be another American President.
