In 1839, Ohio became the first state to adopt a bilingual education law, authorizing German-English instruction at parents’ request.
By eortega
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Ohio became the first state to adopt a bilingual education law
Ohio became the first state to adopt a bilingual education law, authorizing German-English instruction if requested by the child's parents. -
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History of Multilingual Competency in the United States
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Louisiana enacts bilingual law
Louisiana enacted an identical law for French and English in 1847. -
New Mexico Territory enacts bilingual law
New Mexico Territory enacts bilingual law for Spanish and English. -
Federal government forces Native-American children to speak English
the federal government forced Native-American children to attend off-reservation English only schools where they were punished severely if they used their native language. -
First antibilingual education legislation
First antibilingual education legislation is passed. Both Wisconsin and Illinois try to institute English-only schools. -
World War I causes anti-German sentiment
World War I causes anti-German sentiment and various states began to criminalize the use of the German language. Because of this fifteen states legislated English as the basic language of instruction. -
Japanese schools closed
During World War II Japanese-language schools were closed. -
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare Memorandum of May 25, 1970
This memorandum states that if children are unable to participate in educational programs due to a language barrier; the school district must take any steps necessary to rectify the language deficit to open educational programs to ELLs. -
Lau v. Nichols, 414 US 563 (1974)
Lau v. Nichols (1974) is a Supreme Court decision that paved the way for modern bilingual students to learn in English and their native language. -
Gomez vs. Illinois (1987)
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that both state and local education systems are required to ensure that the needs of ELLs are met as stated in the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (1974).
