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Brown v. Board of Education
The US Supreme Court ruled that states are responsible for ensuring that all students have equal educational opportunities and cannot be completely segregated from everyone else throughout their education in the name of learning English. -
Civil Rights Act
US Federal law that guarantees freedom from unequal treatment based on national origin. -
Title VII of Elementary and Secondary Education Act: The Bilingual Education Act 1968 through 2002
US Federal law that provided federal funding via grants for bilingual education as a way of meeting ELL's civil right to equal educational access. Did not require a specific way of doing bilingual education, no requirement for evaluating its effectiveness, and no consequences for providing bad bilingual education. -
Lau v. Nichols
The US Supreme Court ruled that equal education ( the same education as everyone else with nothing additional to help learn English) was not equal access to education. Schools must do something to address the language learning of ELLs. -
Equal Educational Opportunities Act
"No state shall deny educational opportunities to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin by... the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs." Still in effect. -
No Child Left Behind 2002 through 2015
Re-authorization and renaming of ESEA, still providing federal funding for education. Major features included: requirements for accountability, requirements for state standards, and requirements for state standardized assessments. -
ESSA Every Student Succeeds Act, replaces NCLB
Provides federal funding for education. Keeps the requirement as NCLB for standards and standardized assessments. Accountability requirements are more flexible and left up to the states, allow use of measures other that standardized testing. Allows ELLS more time to achieve proficiency, allows inclusion of exited ELLS in accountability measures after exit.