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The Civil Rights Act becomes a law
The Civil Rights Act made "discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin" (Sass, E., (Ed.D), Updated: 2018) illegal. According to Banks, schools were a prime target for protests as they were an institution in which minorities were openly oppressed and discriminated against. This gave activists a platform on which to base lawsuits and force changes (2013, p 74). -
Project Head Start Begins as a Summer Program
It was part of the Johnson's "War on Poverty," (Sass, E., (Ed.D), Updated: 2018). Project Head Start gave lower income preschool children and their families support by focusing on the whole child in order to prepare them to begin school. It started as an 8-week summer program, and due to its success, continued. What's more, by its 50th anniversary in 2015, it had serviced 32 million children (Hudson, D., 2015), giving them a leg up they would not have otherwise had. -
Johnson Signed Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This act opened up the door to education for many low income and minority students by providing federal funds for “educational programs such as Title I and bilingual education” (Sass, E., (Ed.D), Updated: 2018) as “part of Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty"” (Sass, E., (Ed.D), Updated: 2018). Title I helps low-income children thrive in schools by doling out federal funds to school which have a high number of low-income students (U.S. Department of Education, 2015) -
Lyndon Johnson signs the 1965 Immigration Act
According to immigration.laws.com, the Immigration Act of 1924 included a National Origins Act which introduces a quote system only allowing a small percentage of nationals from any country to immigrate to the United States in order to control immigration from “undesirable countries” (National Origins Act, n.d.). The Immigration Act of 1965 abolished this discriminatory practice allowing more Asians and Latin Americans into the United States and into US schools (Sass, E., Ed.D., Updated: 2018). -
The Bilingual Act Becomes Law
Although this law was ladened with controversy and was repealed, according to the History of Education website, this act did a few things. It defined 'limited English proficient', provided federal funding for bilingual programs in public education, and it mandated bilingual education be provided by schools (Schugurensky, D. Ed., n.d.). -
Case of Lau v. Nichols
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled just having the same materials and opportunities does not mean that students have the same access to learning. The court ruled that students with limited English language
must be given English language instruction. Otherwise, the school is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Sass, E., (Ed.D), Updated: 2018). -
The Equal Educational Opportunities Act is passed
This act is a result of the case Lau v. Nichols and incidents like it (Glavin, C., 2016), prohibiting discrimination and requiring schools to actively make sure students are treated equally, especially those with limited English language proficiency. (Sass, E., (Ed.D), Updated: 2018). It also created standards, made equal education a priority, and established bussing alternatives which President Nixon had called for prior to the bill’s passing (Glavin, C., 2016). -
National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) is Founded
According to their website, the NABE is still going strong to this day. They strive to improve the education of bilingual and multilingual children better by “Improv[ing] instructional practices”, providing “professional development opportunities” for educators, helping institutions secure funding, and by advocating for the rights of these students (Taking Bilingual Education to the Next Level, n.d.). -
The Refugee Act of 1980 is signed into law by President Jimmy Carter
It added on to the Immigration Act of 1965 and resulted in millions of refugees being admitted into the United States due to humanitarian reasons. This included many children from different nations. The act also defined a refugee as “a person with a “well-founded fear of persecution,” (Refugee Act of 1980, n.d.) and the US Senate unanimously passes it (Refugee Act of 1980, n.d.). -
Plyler v. Doe
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Texas law was violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by restricting undocumented school-age children from a free public education. (Sass, E., (Ed.D), Updated: 2018). According to the Legal Information Institute’s website, this case also affected school funding as it made it illegal for the state to withhold funds from schools who enrolled undocumented children (Plyler v. Doe, n.d.). -
The Emergency Immigrant Education Act is Enacted
This act provided funds to cover the costs of educating immigrant children. These costs included “English language instruction, other bilingual educational services, and special materials and supplies, provide in-service training” (Emergency Immigrant Education Program, n.d.), as well as “supplies, overhead costs, construction costs, acquisition or rental of space” (Emergency Immigrant Education Program, n.d.). -
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 by George H. W. Bush
The main ways this act impacted immigration to affect the diversity of America, and thusly its schools, are increasing the number of immigrants allowed into the US from about 500,000 to 700,000 each year (Immigration Act Of 1990, n.d.), and it allotted 55,000 diversity visas for countries who America had recently received a low number of immigrants (Sass, E., (Ed.D). -
Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) is signed into law by President Bill Clinton
This act included many aspects, but the traits specific to promoting diversity in schools are more federal funding students with limited English language and ”increased funding for bilingual and immigrant education and made way for public charter schools (Sass, E., (Ed.D). -
President Barack Obama signs the $1.1-trillion Bipartisan Budget Bill
In 2013, a budget sequestration forced 57,000 kids out of the Head Start through cuts, and there were cuts in special education as well. (Matthews, D., 2013). According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), this budget bill raised funding for Title I by 4.5%. Also, the Head Start program was restored to the pre-sequestration level (ASCD, 2014).
