Discuss the history of public education in the United States and who today is responsible for education funding and policies.

What will be an ideal response?

During the nation's first century, the question of a free education for all children was a contentious issue between wealthy interests and egalitarians who saw free public education as a means of enabling ordinary people to get ahead. The egalitarians won out. Public schools quickly sprang up in nearly every community. Equality continues to be a guiding principle of American public education. Education is largely the responsibility of state and local governments. They provide roughly 90 percent of school funding and determine the bulk of school policies. The federal government became more active in education policy after World War II when the public became more aware of deficiencies in the nation's education system. Since the 1960s the federal government has played an even larger, though still secondary, role in education policy.