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.
History of education in England
The "Sandon Act" ("Act of 1876") imposed a legal duty on parents to ensure that their children were educated. The Elementary Education Act 1880 (the "Mundella Act") required school boards to enforce compulsory attendance from 5 to 10 years, and permitted them to set a standard which children were required to reach before they could be employed. Poorer families were often tempted to send their children to work if the opportunity to earn an extra income was available. Attendance officers often visited the homes of children who failed to attend school, which often proved to be ineffective. Children who were employed were required to have a certificate to show they had reached the "educational standard". Employers of these children who were unable to show this were penalised.