Milbrey Wallin McLaughlin

Implementation of federal education programs: Implications for future federal policy

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 was built mainly on aspirations. Experience with intergovernmental politics and management in education was not abundant before the mid-1960s, and, even if it had been, there is reason to doubt that it would have affected the aspirations of reformers. Now, with more than 15 years of experience in these matters, it is possible for federal action to reflect thoughtful assessment, since the federal role has been subject to close scrutiny for virtually the whole period. The purpose of this paper is to supply some of the analysis that might have occurred when Congress passed the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981. We draw upon the major findings of research on the implementation of federal education policy to suggest some principles that might apply in the development of policy in future years. Before considering the conclusions of implementation studies, it is important to make explicit some relatively stable parameters of the federal role in education. First, the Federal Government has, and will continue to have, policy objectives different from those pursued by many states and localities. To assume otherwise is to misunderstand both the nature of the federal system and the differences in political incentives that operate at the national, state, and local levels. The Federal Government tends to pursue equity-producing policies more than states and localities, not because national politicians and bureaucrats are inherently more