Explain the role of the federal government in public schools

What will be an ideal response?

An ideal response would be:
After the former Soviet Union's successful 1957 launch of Sputnik, the first satellite put into orbit, Congress responded by providing funding to strengthen mathematics and science education. In 1965, Congress adopted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the major federal law dealing with education.
Through the Department of Education, which was created in 1979, and other agencies, the federal government makes grants to the states for facilities, equipment, scholarships, loans, research, model programs, and general aid at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. But federal control over how the money may be spent comes with these federal dollars. Today, federal regulations cover school lunch programs, employment practices, admissions, record keeping, care of experimental animals, and many other matters. Indeed, local school authorities regularly complain that there are more regulations than dollars. With the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2002 and the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" grant competition, the role of the federal government in shaping what schools do has continued to increase. The "Race to the Top" invited states to compete for extra federal funding based on their willingness to try new programs.