School Governing Structures

Think back to the questions that were asked in the introduction of this module. Can you imagine the multitude of variations if every adult were to answer those questions? Since education is something nearly every American experiences, you would think that having a right to education would be mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. However, no single mention of education can be found in the Constitution of the United States. Instead, establishing education is among the powers reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment. As it turns out, the right to an education is not constitutionally protected.

Additionally, since the states mandate education, the Equal Protection Clause found in the 14th Amendment has hugely informed the protection of student rights in public schools. The Equal Protection Clause determines that states may not “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” including state structures like public schools.

So, how are schools governed in the United States?

School Governing Structures

School decisions are impacted by federal, state, and local legislation. As mentioned above, the federal government does not protect education as a fundamental right; however, it does influence schools through education policies and reforms. In recent history, one example is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into legislation in 2015 by President Barack Obama, and reauthorized the civil rights law known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was signed into law 50 years earlier by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. These laws provide for educational equity to be addressed in all public schools and mitigate inequitable funding structures in America’s schools.

Unlike federal legislation, each state’s government enacts legislation that creates school policies and standards for that individual state, which schools and districts must follow. The state governments then report adherence to those standards to each state’s educational departments. Typically, school districts, considered at the local level, are determined by geographic locations. School districts may be composed of singular or multiple schools, depending on the school district size. Other governing structures exist within the district or school, from the administration to the teaching faculty and staff.

The Role of the Federal Government

Federal laws provide the framework for states to effectively serve their students and communities, whereas state laws provide details on how educators can do this. While federal laws can sometimes seem ambiguous or overarching, state laws tend to be more specific to the context of the geographic and cultural needs of each state. As such, it is no surprise that the United States government does not oversee the day-to-day occurrences in schools, nor does it provide a national educational curriculum that can be found in other countries. The federal government also does not determine curriculum or pedagogy.

Instead, the United States Department of Education serves as the federal agency for school governance. Congress must authorize its programming through legislation; from there, it is eventually signed into law by the president. The Department of Education has four primary duties:

• Establishing policies for federal funds for early childhood, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions.
• Collecting data on America’s schools and sharing statistics and research with Congress, educators, and the American people.
• Identifying key educational issues and focusing national attention on them.
• Enforcing federal statutes that prohibit discrimination and ensuring equal access to education. (U.S. Department of Education, 2023)

Educational reform in America dates back to the 1800s when a publicly funded education was a radical concept. Many reform acts have transpired throughout American history with the aspiring goals to improve student learning outcomes, protect against discrimination, and provide resources to overcome inequities in education.

The Role of State Government^[1]

Much like America doesn’t have a federally mandated education program, various governance models exist within the states. Generally, these governance models utilize elected or appointed officials to oversee the state’s education of children and teens.

At the state level, three significant positions typically make decisions related to education.

• The governor acts as the chief officer and oversees policy. The governor also can veto and approve legislation.
• The state board of education includes members who act as policymakers and liaisons for educators.
• The chief state school officer, also called the state superintendent, is responsible for administrative oversight of state education agencies. The chief state school officer may be a member of the state board of education but is directly responsible for ensuring policies and state laws are followed.

States are also regulated to provide a minimum public education to each child in their respective jurisdiction. However, each state is left to interpret what a minimum public education looks like in that state’s given context. As a result, each state has a compulsory attendance statute that determines the ages at which students in that state will be expected to attend school. This statute includes three categories: (1) Age of required attendance, which lists the range of ages that students must attend school within that state; (2) Minimum age limit to which free education must be offered, which lists the age that students must begin school within that state; and (3) Maximum age limit for which free education must be offered, which lists the cutoff age for students to complete school within that state. As you can see in the comparative example below, the ages vary depending on the state.

State laws also provide guidelines for how schools are organized based on funding, and money is allocated to school districts throughout the state. From there, school districts decide how those funds are spent. Sometimes, state legislatures and courts must intervene to help reduce funding disparities between poorer and wealthier school districts to ensure all students have equal access to education.

Other ways that states provide schools with oversight include:

• Identifying the minimum licensure requirements for educators
• Dictating what educators must do within that state to maintain their teaching license
• Creating a state board of education, set up school districts, and
• Establishing school boards for each district

School Vouchers

K12 Governance Models

Every state constitution has language that outlines the authority and duties of state legislatures regarding education. The governance structures within this constitutional terminology typically fall under four models outlined in the table below.

To determine which model your state utilizes, visit the Education Governance Dashboard. Knowing your state’s governance model and the authority assigned within it will equip you to understand the structures for accountability and oversight of education in your future school.

The Role of Local Government

Most state governments place the responsibility on local school districts for school funding allocations, curricular decisions, school and employment policies, and day-to-day operations. School districts in the U.S. are often independent local governments. They are able to determine their own geographic boundaries, which may or may not align with other recognized boundaries such as cities, counties, Congressional districts, or Census tracts. School districts may sometimes overlap or intersect other recognized legal or statistical boundaries (NCES, 2022).

Within school districts, a hierarchy of education decision-makers determines the allocation of funds, what curriculum will be used to teach students, what assessments will be used, and hiring decisions, along with many other local policies and initiatives. Most school districts utilize school boards that oversee all the school operations. Education decision-makers also liaise with the community, state legislative bodies and educational agencies, and families. The graphic below highlights a general structure for the hierarchy of decision-makers.

Inequities in Accessing Education

Conclusion

As you learned in this module, having a right to education is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. States, conversely, mandate education and provide legal expectations for children to attend school through compulsory attendance statutes. States are also regulated to provide a minimum public education to each child, but each state is left to interpret what a minimum public education means. States also provide oversight to public schools by identifying the minimum licensure requirements for educators, dictating what educators must do within that state to maintain their teaching license, creating a state board of education, setting up school districts, and establishing school boards for each district. Unfortunately, even with these legal parameters to ensure children are provided educational opportunities, inequities persist within public schools.

School Governing Structures

References