Utah Association for Bilingual Education Unknown

• Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) and Farrington v. Tokushige (1927): Supreme Court invalidated prohibitions against foreign language instruction in private schools.
• Meyer v. Nebraska: Forbidding the teaching in school of any language other than English until the pupil has passed the eight grade violates the 14th Amendment that guarantees liberty. 28
• Farrington v. Tokushige: Argued against Acts of the Legislature of Hawaii. 29

• Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925): Court invalidated an Oregon Law that had compelled attendance at public schools. Therefore, one can attend private schools.
• Oregon Compulsory Education Act is unreasonable. 30

• Mo Hock Ke Lok Po v. Stainback (1944): Parents have the right to have their children taught in a foreign language. 31

 

• 1954: Brown v. Board of Education: desegregation of public schools.
  • 1st major educational policy

 

• Civil Rights Act of 1964: was the chief drive for bilingual education in the United States .
  • Granted financial assistance to the public.

 

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965: provided federal aid for public schools.

 

• Mid 1960's: Language legislation was given important support by President Johnson's “War on Poverty”.

 

• 1968 Bilingual Education Act (BEA): Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
• President Lyndon B. Johnson
• First bilingual-bicultural education program at the federal level.
• Supplemental funding for school districts interested in establishing programs to meet the needs of people with limited English abilities.
• Had to be from low-income families.
• Provided funding for planning and developing bilingual education programs as well as training and operation for these programs. 32
• Reasons for the BEA— 35

1.) Growing size of non-English speaking population.

2.) Education was becoming much more important in terms of employment and social mobility than it had even been.

• “Demonstrated program designed to meet the educational needs of low-income, limited English-speaking children.” 36
• Byproduct of the Civil Rights movement.
• Congress wanted to satisfy the social, political, economic, and cultural environments of the U.S.. 41
• Problems with the BEA:

  1.) Failure to provide a systematic means of determining success of programs. 42

  • Addressed by the Bilingual Education Act of 1974.

 

• Bilingual Education Act of 1974:
  • Eliminated low-income criteria of the 1968 Act.
  • Provided a definition of Bilingual education.
  • Feedback and progress report must be given.

 

• Lau v. Nichols (1974): Discrimination among students on account of race or national origin is barred. This case is in direct reference to Chinese-speaking people. 33

 

• 1975: Office of Civil Rights published the Lau Remedies: guidelines that school districts should follow in order to comply with Lau decision.
• Districts that refused to establish bilingual education programs were no longer eligible for federal funding.
• Replaced by Lau Regulations at the end of the Carter Administration, which was withdrawn in 1981.

• Serna v. Portales Municipal Schools (1974): Court provides an adequate relief program for Spanish-surnamed children. 34

 

• 1981: Senator S.I. Hayakawa introduced a constitutional amendment that made English the sole official language of the United States.
  • 1983: Hayakawa founds "U.S. English", a legislative organization.
• By 1998, twenty-five states had made English their official language. 37

 

• Ron Unz's Proposition 227 (California): the “English for the Children” initiative. This proposition eliminates bilingual education.
• Was passed in 1998, but is still debated today.
• Peaked people's interest in bilingual education. 38
• Passage was a significant event in California 's educational history. 39

 

• 1999: State initiative in Utah promotes English-only laws in the state government.

 

 

• No Child Left Behind Act (2001): signed by President Bush is the successor of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
  • Much debate over how helpful this is to non-native English speakers.

 

 

• Important Federal Councils that Deal with Bilingual Education:
  • NACBE: National Advisory Council for Bilingual Education.
  • OBE: Office of Bilingual Education: reevaluates bilingual education programs

 

Top of Page