Education in the United States
In 1965, the far-reaching Elementary and Secondary Education Act ('ESEA'), passed as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, provided funds for primary and secondary education ('Title I funding'). Title VI explicitly forbade the establishment of a national curriculum. Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 created the Pell Grant program which provides financial support to students from low-income families to access higher education.
Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
State and federal funding, however, is funneled through RIDE as the State Education Agency (SEA). RIDE provides funding to LEAs on a per pupil basis, as determined by the state’s funding formula. As the SEA, RIDE is also responsible for school accountability, as required under federal law, the most recent iteration being the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 10, 2015.