Bilingual Education Timeline

By calynguinn

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    This case is what began the major discrimination in the school systems. The court ruled that segregation was okay as long as the education provided was equal. While it mainly referred to African American students, many Asians, Hispanics, etc. were also sent to different schools than the white students. This ruling is what made parents and school board members angry enough to fight for equality.

  • Meyers v. Nebraska

    This case addressed a law that said no language other than English was allowed to be taught in schools. The case overturned the law, saying that it violated the fourteenth amendment right. This led the way for bilingual programs to be accepted, rather than schools forcing children into English immediately.

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    This case declared that separate was not equal, and it was not okay for schools to be divided by the color of students' skin. Schools were then integrated, which meant students became much more diverse. This led the way for students of any background, no matter what language they spoke, to attend school together.

  • National Defense Education Act

    This act provided funding to both public and private schools at all levels. The goal was to advance the areas of science, math, and foreign languages. Not only did it promote English students learning other languages, but it also provided money for English as a second language programs.

  • Civil Rights Act

    This act ended segregation in all public places. No matter what race, people could begin eating at the same places, going to the same stores, drinking from the same water fountains, etc. Additionally, it banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender, etc. Diverse students were on the track to having similar opportunities to their white peers.

  • Bilingual Education Act

    This act mandated schools to provide some form of bilingual education programs. The act even provided federal funding to encourage school districts to start providing native-language instruction. This act led the way for individual states to develop their own laws promoting bilingual education and preventing discrimination.

  • Lau v. Nichols

    This case ruled that the lack of supplemental language instruction for ESL students was against the Civil Rights Act. Public schools had to begin providing more instruction for the students who needed better English services. It led the way for more ESL services to be developed.

  • Equal Educational Opportunity Act

    This is a Federal law in the U.S. This law makes it illegal to discriminate against any student, faculty member, staff, etc. in schools. Likewise, it prevents the racial segregation of students based on race. It also requires districts to fight barriers that keep students from equally participating in educational opportunities.

  • Aspira v. New York

    Puerto Rican parents and students in New York held a case against the school districts. This case resulted in the Aspira Consent Decree, which guaranteed that Spanish speaking students who were more proficient in Spanish than English would be in transitional bilingual programs. These programs served as a model for other school districts all around the country.

  • Lau Remedies Published

    The guidelines for bilingual education programs decided on based on the Lau v. Nichols case were finally put in place. These guidelines ensured that bilingual education programs had enough educated teachers, learning materials, etc. It also ensured that bilingual education was equal to English education in a sense that it was logical and purposeful.

  • Castenada v. Pickard

    The decision in this case ended in three guidelines being created for bilingual education programs. The guideline stated that bilingual programs should be based on logical methods, effective implementation, and a working system. Programs should make sense educationally, provide enough resources/materials, and help students overcome language barriers.

  • United States v. Texas

    This case affected all schools in the state of Texas. It required Texas schools to implement language programs to teach Mexican-American students to learn English and assimilate into American culture. Likewise, it asked that the programs assist Anglo students in learning Spanish.

  • Plyer v. Doe

    This case ruled that schools have to allow any students to attend, regardless of their immigration status. It is not the fault of the students that they are here with no papers. Therefore, they should not be penalized. This case allowed for ALL students in the country to get an equal education.

  • Gomez v. Illinois State Board of Education

    In this case, the court declared that it is the school district's job to serve English language learners and ensure that they are not just sitting in English classrooms where they do not understand any of the instruction. The court did not require any specific program models be added, but it did advocate for change for those students.

  • No Child Left Behind Act

    The act says that each state must measure all public school students' progress in both reading and math from third grade through eighth grade. Additionally, progress must be measured once between tenth and twelfth grade. As for bilingual education, the act gives parents a choice as to whether or not they would like their children to be apart of the program.