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.
Highly qualified teachers
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was reauthorized in 2001 under the administration of former president George W. Bush and renamed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The ultimate goal of this act is to "To close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind." It is organized into ten "titles", each of which details one particular aspect of the goals of the act, and explains how funds will be allocated to State education agencies (SEAs), local education agencies (LEAs), and State agencies for higher education (SAHEs). Title II, Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals, focuses specifically on improving the quality of teachers and principals in publicly funded schools and created the term highly qualified teacher (HQT). Title II of No Child Left Behind aimed to have a highly qualified teacher in every classroom in the United States by 2005. It also gives states greater freedom on spending as it relates to teacher qualify, in the hopes that schools will be able to retain their highly qualified teachers.