Title 20EducationRelease 119-73

§5801 Purpose

Title 20 › Chapter CHAPTER 68— - NATIONAL EDUCATION REFORM › § 5801

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates a national plan to reach the National Education Goals by pushing for big, coordinated education reforms and by improving teaching and learning in schools and workplaces. It also spells out what the Federal, State, and local governments should do and sets up ways to build broad public agreement, to create and approve high academic and performance standards that can compete internationally, and to develop tests that match those standards. The plan backs new programs at all levels to give every student an equal chance to meet high school and job skills. It guides the reauthorization of federal education programs by promoting excellence and fairness, encouraging states and districts to make strong improvement plans, giving schools (including those with high needs) help and resources, and promoting use of technology. It also supports a voluntary national system for job skill standards and certification, and helps schools involve parents and families in their children’s learning and school advocacy.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §5801

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a framework for meeting the National Education Goals established by subchapter I of this chapter by—
(1)promoting coherent, nationwide, systemic education reform;
(2)improving the quality of learning and teaching in the classroom and in the workplace;
(3)defining appropriate and coherent Federal, State, and local roles and responsibilities for education reform and lifelong learning;
(4)establishing valid and reliable mechanisms for—
(A)building a broad national consensus on American education reform;
(B)assisting in the development and certification of high-quality, internationally competitive content and student performance standards; and
(C)assisting in the development and certification of high-quality assessment measures that reflect the internationally competitive content and student performance standards;
(5)supporting new initiatives at the Federal, State, local, and school levels to provide equal educational opportunity for all students to meet high academic and occupational skill standards and to succeed in the world of employment and civic participation;
(6)providing a framework for the reauthorization of all Federal education programs by—
(A)creating a vision of excellence and equity that will guide all Federal education and related programs;
(B)providing for the establishment of high-quality, internationally competitive content and student performance standards and strategies that all students will be expected to achieve;
(C)encouraging and enabling all State educational agencies and local educational agencies to develop comprehensive improvement plans that will provide a coherent framework for the implementation of reauthorized Federal education and related programs in an integrated fashion that effectively educates all children to prepare them to participate fully as workers, parents, and citizens;
(D)providing resources to help individual schools, including those serving students with high needs, develop and implement comprehensive improvement plans; and
(E)promoting the use of technology to enable all students to achieve the National Education Goals;
(7)stimulating the development and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill standards and certification to serve as a cornerstone of the national strategy to enhance workforce skills; and
(8)assisting every elementary and secondary school that receives funds under this chapter to actively involve parents and families in supporting the academic work of their children at home and in providing parents with skills to advocate for their children at school.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 103–227, Mar. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 125, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note below and Tables.

Amendments

1996—Par. (4)(B) to (D). Pub. L. 104–134, § 101(d) [title VII, § 703(a)(2)(A)], inserted “and” at end of subpar. (B), redesignated subpar. (D) as (C), and struck out former subpar. (C) which read as follows: “assisting in the development and certification of opportunity-to-learn standards; and”. Par. (6)(C) to (F). Pub. L. 104–134, § 101(d) [title VII, § 703(a)(2)(B)], redesignated subpars. (D) to (F) as (C) to (E), respectively, and struck out former subpar. (C) which read as follows: “providing for the establishment of high-quality, internationally competitive opportunity-to-learn standards that all States, local educational agencies, and schools should achieve;”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 1999 Amendment Pub. L. 106–25, § 1, Apr. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 41, provided that: “This Act [enacting section 5891a and 5891b of this title, amending section 1415 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 1415 and 5891a of this title] may be cited as the ‘Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 103–227, § 1(a), Mar. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 125, provided that: “This Act (other than titles V and IX) [enacting this chapter (other than subchapters V and IX) and section 3351 and 3425 of this title, amending section 1107, 1221e–1, 1232h, 2421, 3381 to 3384, 3386, and 5093 of this title, section 5315 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, section 1632, 1633, and 1635 of Title 29, Labor, and section 11903a of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 5093 and 6301 of this title and section 11901 of Title 42] may be cited as the ‘Goals 2000: Educate America Act’.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 5801

Title 20Education

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73