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The U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Religion in Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that “no state law of school board may require that passages from the Bible be read or that the Lord’s Prayer be recited in the public schools.” This ruling impacted Multicultural education because it allowed students to freely practice their own religion and not feel excluded from school activities because they practice differing religions than Christianity. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed which provides federal funds helping low-income students. This event was essential to multicultural education as it resulted in the initiation of important education programs like bilingual education. During this time there was a large increase in children from different cultures coming to America and this was an important inclusion act. -
Reforms to Special Education Testing
New laws are enacted to make sure that children being tested for possible special education placement are tested in their first language. This is important for multicultural education reform because children with a first language other than English were being placed in special education classes simply because they did not understand the testing information. -
Equal Educational Opportunities
The Equal Educational Opportunities Act is passed. This was essential in creating a multicultural education platform as it prohibited discrimination among students and required schools to take specific actions to increase equality among students. -
Education of All Handicapped Children Act
The Education of All Handicapped Children Act is passed and becomes federal law. This was an essential ruling for disabled children as it required these schools to have access to free public education, suited to the student’s individual needs. This was the beginning of all students have one on one, personalized education plans. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) becomes law. This is a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination among people with disabilities in all areas, however it led to a reform in multicultural education allowing students with disabilities to receive the same education as their peers. -
In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms
The book In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms is published. It popularized learning through the active construction of knowledge instead of simple passive reception. This gave children the chance to learn actively with different learning styles, which is important in multicultural inclusion. -
Higher Education Act
The Higher Education Act was amended to expand access to higher education for low and middle-income students. This allowed children from different backgrounds to have more educational support and increased accountability. -
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 was a huge multicultural classroom movement. It provided more than 90-billion dollars towards educational reform, and nearly half of this money went to local school districts for school modernization. This allowed investments in more programs including all students. -
Individualized Education Program
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that schools must offer, “an individualized education program reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” This is an inclusive measure increasing the multicultural education available in todays classrooms.
