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The early 20th century brought a lot of changes to the United States, including a shifting view on bilingual education. During this time, immigration increased dramatically, and unrest and fear began to form.  This led to demands for assimilation and the “Americanization” of these people.  The Nationality Act of 1906 required immigrants to learn English to become Americans.  World War I started in 1917 and brought along with-it Anti-German feelings and put pressure on people living in the United States to demonstrate their loyalty to the American culture.  There was no room in that for languages other than English.  In 1919, it was recommended that all schools use English by the Americanization Department of the United States Bureau of Education.  General interest in learning a foreign language decreased.  Supreme Court cases such as Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) and Farrington v. Tokushige (1927) allowed people to continue to learn languages outside of regular school hours.  It is important to note that while the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing people to have language instruction outside of school, the findings were not supportive of bilingual education (Baker & Wright, 2021, pp. 183-184).

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Why is this important to Bilingual Education?

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Why is this important to Bilingual Education?

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I feel like this was the turning point in Bilingual Education for our country. Instead of celebrating linguistic diversity and differences, they chose fear and started systematically stripping people of their language, culture and therefore identity. I think this is where the negativity towards people who speak other languages really started and trying to change public opinion and policy has been really difficult since this moment.

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Title VII of the ESEA, the Bilingual Education Act

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Title VII of the ESEA, the Bilingual Education Act

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In 1958, the National Defense Education Act passed and with it brought a renewed interest in learning foreign languages. In 1964 The Civil Rights Act passed and prohibited discrimination based on color, race or national origin. This indicated that there was a reduction in the negativity directed at ethnic groups and opened up a possibility to revisit bilingual education. The first modern dual language school was opened up in Dade County in Florida, middle-class Cubans set up the Coral Way Elementary School, a Spanish-English bilingual school. Due to political events at the time this school was supported and funded. This launched attention towards Mexican-Americans who also were in need of bilingual education. The Bilingual Education Act passed in 1968 and authorized use of federal funds for students that spoke languages other than English. The intent was to help students as they shifted to English in classrooms.

(Baker & Wright, 2021, pp184-185).

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Why is this important to Bilingual Education?

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Why is this important to Bilingual Education?

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This seemed to be the spark or event needed to push bilingual education back into the public's view. Although it was not support for dual language programs, it at least allocated funds towards bilingual education and was an override to the states that had an English-only policies that existed at the time.

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Lau v. Nichols (1974) was the Supreme Court Case that outlawed submersion or the English mainstreaming of students who were not proficient in English.  The court case asked the question, is it considered an equal education if students are being taught in a language that they don’t understand?  Following the verdict, the Office of Civile Rights released new guidelines called the Lau remedies.  For students not proficient in English, they would be provided English as a second language classes, tutoring and a form of bilingual education.  However, the end goal was still to transition students from their home language to English.  It also failed to define what bilingual education should look like (Baker & Wright, 2021, pp. 185-186).

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Why is this important to bilingual education?

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Why is this important to bilingual education?

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The Lau v. Nichols (1974) Supreme Court case and the Lau remedies were important because it acknowledged that throwing students into mainstream education without supports is not a fair or just practice. Although it still did not offer options such as a dual language program, it at least recognized the fact and allowed students to have some supports as they transitioned to English.

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Long before Proposition 227, Proposition 203 and Question 2 came into effect, Ronald Reagan’s administration aimed their hostility at bilingual education.  They believed that students needed to learn English so that they could go on and become productive members of society.  This administration weakened the Lau remedies allowing local politicians to have more flexibility to create new policies.  Throughout the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations mainstreaming/submersion and transitional bilingual education ruled.  Under Clinton and the Goals2000: Educate America Act, the state’s role in education was strengthened under Title VII with limited federal funding.  In 1998, Proposition 227 was presented in California and insisted that all students be taught English as quickly and effectively as possible.  Bilingual education programs were restricted.  This initiative spread to Arizona through Proposition 203 and Massachusetts through Question 2.  There is no evidence that these policies led to higher English language learning rates or academic achievement.  Many schools used loopholes to continue bilingual programs.  Interestingly, the programs that survived have been dual language programs.  Luckily Proposition 58 passed in California allowing schools to implement dual language programs for native and non-native English-speaking students.  In 2017, Question 2 was repealed in Massachusetts with the LOOK Act that allows schools to provide bilingual programs (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 188-189).

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Why is it important to bilingual education?

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Why is it important to bilingual education?

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I think that the "English for the Children" movement is an important because it shows that attempting to teach students English rapidly without supports was a disaster. There were no benefits during this time, in fact, more students dropped out of high school during these policies, especially in Arizona (Baker & Wright, 2021, p.189). The fact that dual language programs emerged from this is significant to note as well.

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Before the ESSA Act was signed by Obama in 2015, other policies came into play. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was approved in 2001 under George W. Bush. Under NCLB Title VII was eliminated. These issues were now covered under Title III and brought in the term "limited English proficient" which re-ignited the deficit view of students. NCLB required that ELLs were taught by "highly qualified" teachers but lacked a definition or criteria. Bilingual education models were left up to the state. NCLB also put pressure on students and teachers with high-stakes testing. Under Obama, the Race to the Top and Common Core State Standard policies continued with the high stakes testing but offered grants for education reform. In 2011, the Obama administration offered the ESEA Flexibility due to schools not meeting the requirements of NCLB. Finally, in 2015 Every Student Succeeds (ESSA) Act was approved. It recognized some of the failures from the NCLB. In ESSA, states were given the flexibility to control their goal setting and interventions for under-performing schools. States are required to track the progress of different sub-groups such as ELLs instead of lumping all students together in one group. The requirements from Title III moved to Title I. It also allows for testing of ELLs in their home language. It also removed the requirement that teacher evaluations are based on test scores (Baker & Wright, 2021, pp. 190-195).

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Why is it important for bilingual education?

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Why is it important for bilingual education?

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I think ESSA was important because it gave the states more flexibility to set goals and intervene in the schools that are not meeting their goals. It also moved bilingual education from Title III to Title I which is supported by federal funding. It also allows students to take some tests in their home language. While in general, I do not like state-testing, I do think it is important for ELLs to be able to take a test in their home language and increase their chances of passing.