Education for wayward youth in America has gone through significant historical changes that swing from education as a type of foster care placement to free and appropriate education as a right of citizenship for all youth. The current article traces the changes in the provision of education to juvenile delinquents through four major periods: the Puritan Ear (1642 through 1700), the Early American Colonies and the New Republic Ear (1700 through 1824), the Refuge and Reform Era (1824 through 1899), and the Professional and Political Patronage Era (1900 through to the present). During the Puritan Era, the discipline and moral education of children was the most important duty of parents and those who failed in this duty were subject to having their children removed to foster care where they would, evidently, receive proper Puritan education. Thus was the emergence of education within juvenile justice. The Early American Colonies and the New Republic Era saw the development of workhouses in corrections as a strategy to educate offenders in a new way of life, while the Refuge and Reform Era ushered in reformatories designed to treat delinquent juveniles while providing rudimentary education. During the Professional and Political Patronage Era, the growth of juvenile rights led to major advances in juvenile correctional education and the emergence of academic and educational standards within the juvenile justice system. While the improvement in juvenile correctional education has been vast, advocates must remain assertive and vigilant. References