Books

School's In: Federalism and the National Education Agenda

By: Paul Manna

Abstract: This book uses the case of K-12 education to develop a general model of agenda setting in the American federal system. Two key questions motivate the overall study. First, if states and localities are the primary caretakers of K-12 education, how have federal policymakers so expanded their reach in the country's schools since 1965, the year the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) became law? Second, and more generally, how does the American federal system create opportunities for policymakers across the country to advance their agendas even in areas where they may struggle to wield influence? In answering those questions, the book argues that the evolving relationship between the federal government and the states has produced major changes in the American education agenda since the 1960s. Recognizing a key process that characterizes federal-state interactions is critical for understanding how federal and state agendas have unfolded. That process, which the book calls "borrowing strength," occurs when policy entrepreneurs at one level of government attempt to push their agendas by leveraging the justifications and capabilities that other governments elsewhere in the federal system possess. Borrowing strength is the conceptual anchor that organizes the analysis and enables it to integrate previous scholarship on federalism and agenda setting. In the process, it provides insights about how education agendas in the United States have changed and will likely unfold in the future.