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Period: to
History of Multilingual Competency in the United States
References:
Diaz-Rico, L.T. (2012). A course for teaching English learners (2nd edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Previti, P. (2005). Help! They don’t speak English! Retrieved from http://www.eht.k12.nj.us/~webnclb/media/HELP!TheyDontSpeakEnglish.pdf -
South Carolina Act of 1740
In response to Nat Turner Rebellion and others alike, teaching slaves to read and write was outlawed. Slaves were denied ability to speak, read or write in their native tongue; forbidden to read or write in the secondary language as well. -
Native American Boarding School Movement (1864 – 1900)
Native American children are forcibly removed from their homes by federal government and placed in boarding schools where they are stripped of their culture, religion, and language. -
Bennett Act off 1889/ First anti-bilingual education legislation is passed in 1888
The states of Wisconsin and Illinois establish English speaking only schools. -
Naturalization Act of 1906
Requires all immigrants to learn the English-language as a requirement of citizenship. -
Meyer v. Nebraska in 1923
The Supreme Court bans an English-only law. -
Pearl Harbor bombing, 1941
Japanese forced into internment camps with English-only schools. All Japanese schools are closed. -
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
Supreme Court rules that it is unconstitutional for states to declare laws that establish separate public schools for black and white students. -
Civil Rights Act Title VI, 1964
Outlawed discrimination and the denial of education access based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Chicano Movement of 1968
10,000 Chicano students boycotts L.A. schools with a demand for bilingual education. Charges against boycotters were declared unconstitutional. -
Bilingual Education Act of 1968
(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VII), Federal legislation that provides funding to school districts in order to help them develop bilingual education programs. -
Lau v. Nichols (414 U.S. 563) in 1974
Chinese students who have limited proficiency in the English language bring a civil rights case demanding that they receive special help in school due to their limited English-speaking proficiency. Sparked nationwide rights as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students. -
NCLB, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
ESEA, Elementary and Secondary Education act is reauthorized. Funding is provided to states after annual tests are assessed. More funds are provided to schools for ELL students.
