Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974
Congress passed the EEOA as a house bill amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The only legislative history available for reference is from a similar bill passed in 1972. The House Committee on Education and Labor noted that the bill was significant in that it contained the first "illustrative definition of a denial of equal educational opportunity", and that this lent clarity to schools, governmental authorities, and students as to what, precisely, their rights were.
Federal involvement in US education
During and immediately after the war, the federal government contributed money to districts unduly burdened by military instillations. During this time, some began to believe that schools could no longer adequately provide for themselves. The Brown v. Board ruling aided this viewpoint in that the federal government had to get involved in making sure that all individuals were protected. This, along with the “urban crisis” happening in the US, led the federal government to pass one of its most long lasting and impactful pieces of education legislation, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. A general subsidy for education with a series of provisions states must follow, the ESEA thrust the Federal government into the education policy picture.