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The Civil Rights Act
This landmark legislation helped break barriers and end segregation in public spaces most notably in public schools.This benefitted multi-cultural education based on the fact that integration was now possible. It also declared that it was unlawful to discriminate anyone based on religion, race, ethnicity, color or nation of origin. It provided equal opportunity for learning to all. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
This act was one of the most influential in education. It improved educational opportunities for disadvantaged and poor children in all sectors of society. It impacted multi-cultural education due to the fact that it helped to close the gap between students by providing them a fair and equal opportunity in school. It established federal standards to improve learning opportunities for all students regardless of their background. -
The Bilingual Education Act
This law helped provide funds to school districts to develop bilingual education programs. This act helped multi-cultural education since it helped to supplement support services for ELL students. -
Diana v. California State Board
This case shed light in linguistic bias in IQ testing. In its stipulation, stated that students whose first language was not English were legally entitled to test in their first language. This had an impact on multicultural education since students now had to be properly assessed and not misplaced due to their limited language skills. -
Indian Education Act
This act helped provide educational assistance to Native American tribes and nations. It helped education have a multicultural focus, based on the needs and culture of those of indigenous descent. This act is highly consistent with the ideals of multicultural education in many ways. It recognized Native Americans diverse needs based on their language, culture, and way of learning. -
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
This amendment helped to limit discrimination based on gender in public education institutions. This promoted multicultural education on the basis that enabled women to actively participate and be admitted to schools and no longer be rejected based on their gender alone. Both men and women now had equal opportunity for participation. -
Case of Lau v. Nichols
This supreme court decision found that the San Francisco School District violated the Civil Rights Act by not providing Chinese-American students with adequate English classes. The ruling influenced how English immersion classes were now delivered to students whose first language was not English. It changed multi-cultural education for the better, as it required school districts to provide equal opportunities to students who first language was not English. -
Equal Educational Opportunities Act
The act required schools to stop enabling school segregation based on a students race, color, sex or national origin. Schools were required to overcome barriers which would limit students to have equal opportunities. It led to the adoption of more multicultural approaches in schools across the country. -
Improving America's Schools Act (IASA)
This act helped to reform schools by focusing on multicultural education. It increased funding for Title I programs, bilingual and immigrant education. In essence, it contributed to improving the quality education students were receiving in school and how they were learning. -
Fisher v. University of Texas
In this supreme court case, university student Fisher sued the University of Texas due to their affirmative action policy. The Supreme Court rules that the University of Texas’s use of race in its admissions process does not violate the Constitution. Affirmative action is, in essence, an important part of multicultural education. It provides equal representation for women and minorities in higher education. It seeks to dismantle university admission bias.
