ABSTRACT
Beginning with Ronald Reagan’s term in the White House and continuing through the terms of his successors, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, the emphasis on using the schools to pursue egalitarian goals and equity objectives was diminished severely. Ronald Reagan came to the presidency intent on reversing the course that the nation had been following during the four-year presidency of his Democratic predecessor, Jimmy Carter. The Georgian had proved to be a rather clumsy politician in handling Congress, and he was further weakened politically both by his inability to control the inflation caused in large part by an Arab oil embargo and by his failure to free Americans taken hostage by Iranian fundamentalists. Though a powerful campaign theme, Regan’s school prayer efforts were half-hearted. The so-called “Reagan Amendment,” proposed in 1982, would have changed the US Constitution to allow formal prayers in public schools.
