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As noted previously, education generally has been regarded as a responsibility of state and local governments. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA; Pub. L. No. 89–750) was one of the first major federal programs to aid education. With the passage of ESEA, Congress accepted the proposition that although “education is primarily a state function … the Federal Government has a secondary obligation to see that there is a basic floor under those essential services for all adults and children in the United States” (Taft, 1965, p. 1450). A major thrust of early amendments of the law was to target funds more specifically for schoolchildren from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The most recent re-authorization of ESEA is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, Pub. L. No. 114–95), signed into law by President Barrack Hussein Obama in 2015. Its purpose is “to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education” (Sec. 1001). ESSA authorizes federal funds for low-performing schools (defined as schools performing in the bottom 5 percent), for high schools where less than two-thirds of students graduate, and to improve educational outcomes for subgroups of children who chronically struggle to succeed at school (Sec. 111[c][4][C-D]). Funds are also targeted for literacy education, early childhood education, and for children who are English language learners, Native American, migratory, homeless, neglected, delinquent, or at risk for dropping out. In addition, some ESSA funds are provided as block grants to states. Of special importance to school psychology, these funds may be used for “initiatives to expand access to or to coordinate school counseling and mental health programs” (Sec. 4102[b][3][B][ii][II]), and the term school-based mental health services provider is defined to include state-certified or state-licensed school psychologists (Sec. 4102 [6]).