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Nationality Act
This act designated English as the only language to be taught in schools. It also required all immigrants to speak English in order to be eligible to start the process of naturalization. An act of the United States Congress. Signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 29, 1906. Took effect on September 27, 1906. -
Burnett Act
The first legislation aimed at restricting, opposed to regulating, European immigration. People from the so-called Asiatic Barred Zone were prohibited from entering the United States. A literacy test was imposed on those wishing to enter the United States. People over the age of 16 that could read some language must read 30-40 words to show that they are capable of reading. -
Meyer vs. Nebraska, 262 US 390
This case was about a teacher, Robert T. Meyer, in a parochial school who was accused of violating the Simian Act. Meyer was teaching the subject of reading in German to a 10-year-old student. The ruling stated that the Due Process law of the 14th Amendment was violated by the teaching of modern foreign languages to grade school children. -
Farrington v. Tokushige 273, U.S. 284
The Supreme Court of the United States rejected Hawaii's law making schools that teach foreign languages without a permit illegal because it violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment. The court stated that "owners, parents, and children" are guaranteed rights by the due process clauses of these two Amendments. -
Mo Hock Ke Lok Po vs. Stainback
Court decision in the District of Hawaii ruled that parents have the right to have their children taught in the language that they choose. This was a court case in a long line of instances that were affirming the rights of citizens to learn and teach their language of preference. -
Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka
Landmark case in which the United States Supreme Court declared state laws that established segregated classrooms to be unconstitutional. It was ruled that this was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It was a major victory for the civil rights movement. -
Bilingual Education Act
Also known as Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968. This was the first time that the United States federal legislation had recognized the needs of Limited English Speaking Ability (LESA) students. The purpose was to provide school districts with federal funds for to establish programs for students with limited English speaking ability. -
Immigration Act
Also known as the Hart-Celler Act, proposed by Representative Emanuel Celler of New York, co-sponsored by Senator Phillip Hart of Michigan, and promoted by Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. It got rid of the national origins quota system that had been around since the 1920's and focused on a system that was based on immigrant's skills and family relationships with existing U.S. citizens. -
Lau vs. Nichols (414 U.S. 5637)
A case in which Chinese American students were not receiving the help that they needed in the classroom due to their inability to speak English. They were entitled to this help under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students and it created an expansion of limited English proficiency students nationwide. -
Lau Remedies
A major effort to help school districts to understand their responsibilities to national origin minority students. Creation of policy guidelines for school districts' compliance with the Title VI requirements stemming from the Lau v. Nichols (1974) court ruling. Stated that elementary schools should instruct students in their native language until they could effectively participate in English-only classrooms. -
Castaneda v. Pickard
Roy Castaneda, father of two Mexican-American children, was claiming that Raymondville Independent School District (RISD) in Texas was discriminating against his children because of their ethnicity. At first, the court did not rule in Castaneda's favor. However, the court did and thus creating a three-part assessment for ensuring that bilingual education programs would meet the requirements of the Equal Educational Opporunities Act of 1974. -
Improving America's Schools Act
A major part of the Clinton administration's efforts to reform education. This was the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It included provisions for the Title I program, charter schools, Safe and Drug-Free schools, major increases in immigrant and bilingual education funding, education technology and other programs. -
Proposition 187
Also known as the Save Our State (SOS) initiative was a ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system to prohibit immigrants from access to health care, public education, and other social services in the state of California. The law was challenged and found unconstitutional in a federal court. -
Proposition 227
Change that way that Limited English Proficient (LEP) students are taught in California. Required schools with LEP students to teach special classes in mostly all English. It shortened the time that most LEP students stay in special classes. It also eliminated most programs in the state that provided multi-year special classes to LEP students. -
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
A reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, including Title I. It supports standard based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. To receive federal school funding, schools must develop and give assessments in basic skills to students in select grade levels.