The experience of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond with ESEA Title I, April 1965--December 1976

Abstract

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was envisioned as a way to improve society by helping to equalize educational opportunities for economically and educationally deprived school children. The law provided for students in nonpublic schools to receive services commensurate with those received by their public school counterparts.

This dissertation describes and analyzes the implementation of Title I of ESEA and amendments, in the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, from April 1965 through December 1976. The implementation of Title I in diocesan schools resulted in a conflict between church and state. An historical study in church-state relations, this study provides documentation of the conflict and a view of the issues, events and results. Positions of some officials of the Richmond diocese, the Virginia Department of Education, the U.S. Office of Education, and the U.S. Catholic Conference are presented.

Three chronological phases of Title I implementation between April 1965 and December 1976 are identified. Efforts of diocesan officials to secure Title I services for children in schools of the diocese varied in concert with events and issues and the personalities of the leaders throughout the time frame. The study documents that the amounts of services parochial school children received were determined, to a large extent, by external factors not under the control of the Richmond diocesan staff. The issues involving the implementation of Title I (now Chapter I, ECIA) remain unresolved. The dissertation suggests the need for future study regarding the implementation of Title I for the period following December 1976. A number of general hypotheses about church and state relationships; about administrative processes in state, federal, and church bureaucracies; and about leadership emerged from the study. These generalizations are presented as empirical propositions.