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Meyers v. Nebraska
The Supreme Court decided that the 14th Amendment protects language minorities. They also decided that state government can restrict the language used for instruction but cannot prevent communities from offering private language lessons. -
Farrington v. Tokushige
Hawaii wanted to limit out-of-school Chinese and Japanese heritage language programs. The court's ruling echoed the ruling in Meyers v. Nebraska. The case, however, has more to do with parent's rights than education. -
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Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was the first federal educational language policy. It focused mainly on students from low income areas and defined funds, policy and procedures aimed at equitable education. It was the first step towards eliminating the "sink or swim" theory of educating language learners. It was influenced by the civil rights movement and war on poverty. ESEA was reauthorized as No Child Left Behind in 2001. -
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Title VII Bilingual Education Act
This act provides grants to low income areas where English was not the primary language. Even though the act was initially intended to support bilingual education, it offered few solutions and did not consistently incorporate student's home language. As part of the 1994 reauthorization, bilingual education was more clearly defined and some funds were reserved for programs that supported the home language. -
Lau v. Nichols
Parents of Chinese students sued the San Francisco School District because the district placed their students in non-ELL classes. The district argued that they were treating English language learners them same as native speakers. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents, stating that equal education is not equitable education. The Lau Remedies for identifying, evaluating, placing and transitioning students, which led to the EEOA, came out of this case. -
Equal Educational Opportunities Act
This act was influenced by the ruling in Lau v. Nichols and the resulting Lau Remedies. It does not mandate bilingual education, but seeks to ensure schools are providing equitable education to all students. -
Castañeda v. Pickard
A school district in Texas was in violation of the Equal Education Opportunities Act. The ruling created the Castañeda standards, a 3-pronged test that demands an English language program must: 1) be based on sound educational theory; 2) have sufficient resources and personnel; and 3) be evaluated to determine if it is effective. -
Plyler v. Doe
This Supreme Court ruling guarantees undocumented students the right to public education. The Supreme Court determined that the benefits of educating all students (regardless of citizenship status) outweighs the harm. -
Gomez v. Illinois State Board of Education
Gomez represented 6 ELL students (5 of them were deemed "LEP", 1 had not yet been tested). The court reinforced the Castañeda test to improve failing English language programs. The court ruled that districts must serve their English language learners and not rely on the "sink or swim" methodology. -
California Proposition 227
CA Prop. 227 was drafted by a wealthy Silicon Valley software entrepreneur. It eliminated most bilingual education programs and replaced them with "special" classes taught only in English. Most students were only allowed to remain for one year before they were sent out to mainstreamed classrooms. -
Flores v Arizona
A group of English language learners and their parents alleged that the quality of the programs offered to their students were of poor quality and violated the Equal Educational Opportunity Act. After a lengthy battle, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling and sided in favor of the state. They said states can determine its own requirements in English language programs. -
Arizona Proposition 203
This reform replaced bilingual programs with sheltered or immersion programs. It was similar to the efforts of limiting ELL programs proposed in California's Proposition 227 and Massachusetts Question 2. -
Title III -- Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students
Title III is a component of No Child Left Behind. It promotes accountability through high stakes testing. The sole goal is English proficiency, and it does not mention bilingual education. -
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No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind focused on accountability for through high stakes testing (which included ALL ELs). Through testing, schools were required to demonstrate annual yearly progress to continue receiving funds and avoid harsh sanctions. This led to the elimination of bilingual education. -
MA Question 2
MA Question 2, or the Massachusetts English in Public Schools Initiative, stated that English language learners should be taught in English in all subject areas. The statute indicates that English-only classrooms will help students learn English, essentially reinstating the "sink or swim" methodology that ESEA sought to end. -
Race to the Top
Race to the Top offered grants to states that adopted internationally benchmarked standards that focused on college and career readiness, employed effective teachers and administrators, built transparent data systems that measured student success and supported effective intervention strategies. It tied teacher evaluations to their student's test scores, regardless of their English proficiency. Critics believe that states did not properly address English language learners in their proposals. -
ESEA Flexibility
NCLB demanded that 100% of students pass state tests by 2014, which is an impossible goal. States could apply to be excused from the Title I accountability requirements if they submitted a plan that included evidence of college and career readiness, state developed accountability systems, and rigorous teacher/administrator accountability systems. Many states included ELLs in their "at-risk" student subgroups, which may limit their access to necessary supports and resources. -
Common Core State Standards Initiative
The Common Core State Standards are language arts and math standards that fulfill the requirements of of RTTT and ESEA Flexibility. Although this initiative claims to not be a national curriculum, it is paving the way for commonality between states . Bilingual educational advocates are using these standards to develop bilingual and biliterate programs. -
Every Student Succeeds Act
ESSA is the current reauthorization of ESEA. It uses federal funds to hold states accountable for student growth. It also places a little bit more control in states' hands because unlike NCLB, states determine the growth goals and consequences for failing to meet those goals. Also unlike NCLB, ESSA emphasizes growth rather than a test score, which benefits English learners who are unlikely to complete a rigorous test written in academic English.