English Learners: Not Disabled, Not Segregated, Not the Way it's Always Been

By mflaigle
  • Period: to

    Ignored

    From the time that the British began to colonize the Americas until BEA, English language learners were largely ignored as a cohesive minority group that deserved to have their rights protected by the government.

  • Amendment XIV to the U.S. Constitution

    Apparently the Declaration of Independence lied when it said "all men are created equal," so the 14th Amendment was created to clarify this idea. Now the government cannot treat people as though they are different. States would never create a law that discriminates against English language learners.

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    In this Supreme Court case, the government finally recognized the truth in the then-commonly held ideal of "separate but equal" is not equal at all. Education is the most important service provided by the state. Segregation of any kind is detrimental to those being discriminated against, as well as the state as a whole. Check out the full court decision HERE. Woohoo! No more discrimination! Well, that was the hope anyway.

  • Mississippi passes House Bill 95

    Mississippi creates a literacy test that potential voters must pass in order to vote in state elections. The test is in English. English language learners are deprived their right to vote. This idea held proverbial water because if you're too dumb to speak English fluently, you are definitely too dumb to choose who you want to be your president (not).

  • Civil Rights Act

    Hey, we're getting closer to not discriminating against people, English language learners included! Title VI prohibits discrimination in all programs that receive federal financial assistance. See the law in its entirety HERE.

  • BEA

    The Bilingual Education Act (Section 702 of ESEA reauthorized in 1968) provides "provide financial assistance to local educational agencies to develop and carry out new and imaginative elementary and secondary school programs designed to meet these special educational needs." Finally, there is now some money to help students learn English!
    See the full statute HERE.
  • Period: to

    Recognized

    English language learners are recognized as a cohesive minority group with equal rights that deserve to be protected by the government.

  • May 25th Memorandum

    BINGO! We have a winner. In this memorandum, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare says, "School districts must not assign national origin-minority group students to classes for the mentally retarded on the basis of criteria which essentially measure or evaluate English language skills." In other words, you cannot be considered "disabled" simply because your family didn't teach you to speak English.

  • Lau v. Nichols

    At the end of this case, the Supreme Court concluded that if you don't speak English, the school has to give you extra tools to help you learn the language. It's not enough to simply put you in all English-speaking classrooms. Even the U.S. Congress knew that wouldn't work. This video does a wonderful job of explaining this landmark case. Check it out!

  • Castaneda v. Pickard

    This Supreme Court decision gives a way for the government to evaluate whether or not a school is truly in compliance with the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974. This helps ensure families that their student's rights to an equal education are not being violated. For more detailed information regarding this case, click HERE.

  • Plyler v. Doe

    This Supreme Court decision ruled that a child cannot be denied a free, public education, regardless of their family's immigrant status. These children are protected by the 14th Amendment. The Court explicitly states that such a denial would "violate their constitutional right of equal protection."

  • Horace Mann (USD 259) becomes a dual language magnet school

    The goals of Horace Mann are not about serving English language learners. However, English language learners whose primary language is Spanish are served well by attending a school in which instruction is equally split between English and Spanish. Although this is not a solution for English language learners attending other schools, it does provide insight into possible solutions to the problems English language learners in USD 259 face.

  • Office of Civil Rights Successes

    Click HERE to see what the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights considers some recent successes in the ongoing struggle for equality.

  • References

    Click HERE to view the full references page for this timeline