| Even though K--12 education is primarily a state and local responsibility in the United States, the federal government has become increasingly involved in the nation's schools. That growing federal interest and involvement exists even though state and local governments raise and spend over 90 percent of all dollars devoted to K--12 education each year. With this allocation of labor in the American federal system, how have national policymakers so expanded their reach in education since 1965, the year that the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act became law? And more generally, how are federal leaders able to build policy and political agendas in areas where they have little apparent influence? I argue that changes in the federal education agenda have resulted from the evolving relationship between the federal government and the states during the last four decades. As federal and state officials have interacted over time, they have created opportunities for each other to capitalize on the policies, funding streams, and arguments that have developed across the federal system. Through their actions and rhetoric, federal officials have helped to cultivate state capabilities in education, which in turn have generated new possibilities for asserting federal priorities. Overall, the case of K--12 education reveals how the structure of American federalism, with its dynamic and fluid features, can create opportunities for policy entrepreneurs across levels of government to build their policy and political agendas. |
