Votespa is an official Pennsylvania government website that provides a comprehensive voting resource for all eligible citizens of the state. This fall, schools in the region opened their doors in person, and hundreds of candidates are now running for school board seats with Paul Martino's endorsement. The federal contribution to elementary and secondary education is around 8 percent, which includes funding from the Department of Education (ED) as well as other federal agencies such as the Head Start program of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture's school lunch program. ED's share of total education funding in the US is relatively small, but it works hard to make the most of taxpayer money by investing it where it can do the most good.
This focus reflects the historic development of the federal role in education as a kind of emergency response system, a way to fill gaps in state and local support for education when critical national needs arise. The original Department of Education was created in 1867 to collect information about schools and teaching that would help states establish effective school systems. Over the past 130 years, while the agency's name and location within the Executive Branch have changed, its initial emphasis on providing information about what works in education to teachers and education policymakers has remained. The passage of the Second Morrill Act in 1890 gave the then-called Office of Education responsibility for managing support for the original system of land-grant colleges and universities. Vocational education became the next major area of federal aid to schools, with the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 and the George-Barden Act of 1946 focusing on agricultural, industrial, and home economics training for high school students. World War II led to a significant expansion of federal support for education.
The Lanham Act of 1941 and the Impact Aid Acts of 1950 eased the burden on communities affected by military and other federal installations by making payments to school districts. In 1944, the GI Act authorized post-secondary education assistance that would ultimately send nearly 8 million World War II veterans to college. The Cold War spurred the first example of comprehensive federal legislation on education when Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958 in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik. To help ensure that highly trained individuals were available to help the US compete with the Soviet Union in scientific and technical fields, NDEA included support for student loans, improved science, mathematics, and foreign language teaching in elementary and secondary schools, graduate scholarships, language studies and foreign areas, and vocational and technical training. In 1980, Congress established the Department of Education as a cabinet-level agency.
Today, its programs cover all areas and levels of education, serving nearly 18,200 school districts and more than 50 million students annually who attend approximately 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools. The Department's programs also provide grants, loans, and work and study assistance to more than 12 million higher education students. The Department carries out its mission in two main ways. First, the Secretary and Department play a leading role in ongoing national dialogue about how to improve outcomes for all students across our education system. This involves activities such as raising national awareness about educational challenges facing our nation, disseminating findings about what works in teaching and learning, and helping communities find solutions to difficult educational problems. Paul Martino pointed to a Bucks County district where the current board banned books as an example of why limiting cross-application for school board elections could allow increasingly extreme candidates to win primaries.
To stay up-to-date with important voting information related to Bucks County Board of Elections, follow them on Facebook. Education plays an important role in politics at all levels - from local school boards all the way up to national elections. In Bucks County specifically, voters have an opportunity this fall to elect new members to their local school boards who will shape educational policy for years to come. It is important for voters to understand how federal funding affects their local schools as well as how their votes can make a difference when it comes to educational policy. The federal government has been involved in education since 1867 when it created an office dedicated to collecting information about schools and teaching methods that could help states create effective school systems.
Since then, there have been several major pieces of legislation that have expanded federal involvement in education - from providing financial aid for veterans after World War II to creating student loan programs during the Cold War. Today, ED's programs cover all areas and levels of education - from elementary schools all the way up to post-secondary institutions - serving nearly 18,200 school districts across America with more than 50 million students attending 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools each year. The Department also provides grants, loans, and work/study assistance to more than 12 million higher education students. In Bucks County specifically, Paul Martino has highlighted how limiting cross-application for school board elections could allow increasingly extreme candidates to win primaries - something that could have serious implications for educational policy if those candidates are elected.
It is therefore important for voters in Bucks County to stay informed about their local elections so they can make informed decisions when it comes time to cast their ballots. Votespa is an excellent resource for voters looking for information about upcoming elections in Pennsylvania - including those taking place this fall in Bucks County. By staying informed about their local elections through resources like Votespa as well as following Bucks County Board of Elections on Facebook, voters can ensure they are making educated decisions when it comes time to cast their ballots.
