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First grader Ruby Bridges is the first African American to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. She becomes a class of one as parents remove all Caucasian students from the school.
For multicultural education to begin, the acceptance of all ethnicities and cultures had to take place. The decision made by Ruby Bridges to attend a then all white school following the Little Rock 9 fueled the Civil Rights Movement. She was an inspiration to all people of color, especially the youth. -
1962 - In the case of Engel v. Vitale, the U. S. Supreme Court rules that the state of New York's Regents prayer violates the First Amendment. The ruling specifies that "state officials may not compose an official state prayer and . . .
require that it be recited in the public schools of the State at the beginning of each school day. . . " Numerous cases followed, reaffirming that schools cannot require passages of the bible be read or the Lord's Prayer recited. This shapes multicultural education in that it does not make Christianity the official religion in schools or the religion that is taught or sought to be enforced. It is the beginning of the acceptance of religious freedom. -
1963 - In response to the large number of Cuban immigrant children arriving in Miami after the Cuban Revolution, Coral Way Elementary School starts the first bilingual and bicultural public school in the United States.
Not only is cultural acceptance displayed through this historical event, but specific adaptations have been made for the benefit and wellbeing of the youth in the area that were predominately Spanish-speaking. This embodies multicultural education as this was the first school in the United States to be considered Bicultural. -
1970 - The case of Diana v. California State Board results in new laws requiring that children referred for possible special education placement be tested in their primary language.
This shaped multicultural education in two distinct ways. It not only created a voice for children who were facing discrimination and mistreatment due to the language they spoke, it also validated the educational needs of both non-english speaking children and children with special needs. -
1980 - President Jimmy Carter signs the Refugee Education Assistance Act into law as the "Mariel Boatlift" brings thousands of Cuban and a small number of Haitian refugees to Florida.
The Act brought in floods of new students with new perspectives and life experience, in addition to issues and special needs. Many programs in the area were changed and revised to fit the needs of the diverse group of students now being taught. -
1984 -The Emergency Immigrant Education Act is enacted to provide services and offset the costs for school districts that have unexpectedly large numbers of immigrant students.
This was monumental in that it provided equal education opportunities for students of all races, genders, cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. This brought a more diverse group of students to the classroom. -
1994 - The Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) is signed into law by President Bill Clinton on January 25th. It. reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965 and includes reforms for Title I; increased funding for bilingual and . . .
. . . immigrant education; and provisions for public charter schools, drop-out prevention, and educational technology. This provided increased funding for students of different races, cultures, and ethnicities, which allowed access to more resources for both teachers and students. It focused on bilingual education for students as well, which promoted the acquisition of the English language while also strengthening their own primary language skills. -
1996 - James Banks' book, Multicultural Education: Transformative Knowledge and Action, makes an important contribution to the growing body of scholarship regarding multiculturalism in education.
The published work provided a resource for educators nationwide and added to the then small pool of knowledge regarding multicultural education. Recognition of ever-changing student demographics and adopting a teaching style to cater best to student needs began to increase. -
2001 - The controversial No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is approved by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002 The law, which reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965 and replaces the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 . . .
. . . mandates high-stakes student testing, holds schools accountable for student achievement levels, and provides penalties for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward meeting the goals of NCLB. This negatively impacted multicultural education in that it shifted the focus from enhancing the students' skills in their own language, while acquiring the English language, to simply acquiring the English language. Bilingual education program funding was also cut in half. -
2014 - As schools open this fall, a demographic milestone is reached: minority students enrolled in K-12 public school classrooms outnumber non-Hispanic Caucasians.
This means that there is an ever preset need for multicultural education in the United States. Schools are becoming increasingly diverse, creating a higher demand for multicultural education.
