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The Beginning
Largely influenced by the influx of Cuban immigrants during the 1960's, the first large-scale government-sanctioned bilingual program was initiated in Dade County, Florida, and became an unofficial model for the nation. Educators came from all over the country to examine the curriculum in an attempt to investigate the use of bilingual schooling for English Language Learners (ELL). -
Bilingual Education Act
Congress passed the Bilingual Education Act under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This represented the first national acknowledgment of the special educational needs of non/limited-English speaking children. Under Title VII's "poverty criterion" for eligibility, however, bilingual education was seen as a strategy for 'repudiating the effects of poverty and cultural disadvantage". -
Lau vs. Nichols
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Lau and 1,789 other Chinese students in San Francisco were being denied access to equal educational opportunities because they could not sufficiently understand the language of instruction. Set expectations that school systems would adopt some kind of comprehensive strategy that addresses the needs of non-English speaking students, though the Court refused to mandate any particular model. -
Limited English Proficient (LEP)
The majority of programs funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) are re-organized into two divisions. Title I provides money for disadvantaged students, as well as migrant education programs. Title II provides block grants to the states under laws like "Ethnic Heritage Act" and the "Emergency School Aid Act". Funding for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students (also ELL), comes from all of these programs to some degree. -
Structured English Immersion (SEI)
California's Proposition 227 passed during the primary election and effectively restructured education for language minority students by mandating a one-year structured English immersion (SEI) program, although it came with an opt out option. It is still debated whether or not SEI actually benefits ELL students. -
It Continues
The craziness of the bilingual debate showed no sign of slowing down. Arizon passed Proposition 203 and effectively ended bilingual education in that state. Led by California software mogul Ron Unz, the non-profit corporation "One Nation, One California" is pursuing similar legislation in Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas.
