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Date: 1906

Summary & Importance: The Nationality Act is an important piece of legislation in regards to understanding the history of bilingual education in the United States. It required uniform legislation for naturalization, therefore de-emphasizing native tongues and placing high importance on the adoption of the English language. This act is important because it is the first piece of legislation that required immigrants to conform to the English language in order to become naturalized.

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This is a photograph of Senator Ralph Yarborough, who introduced this bill in 1967.

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Date: 1968

Summary & Importance: The Title VII Bilingual Education Act was a program specifically designed to serve disadvantaged populations of students. This act served as an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This act provided funding through grants to address issues regarding educational and financial disadvantages that impacted learning for bilingual students. This act is important because it later was revised with reauthorizations, working toward developing more effective and impactful legislation for bilingual education students.

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Date: January 8, 2002

This was a federal law signed by President George W. Bush. The law heavily impacted bilingual education. NCLB referred to ELLs as “limited English proficient” (LEP), which emphasizes deficits over strengths for bilingual students. Specifically for bilingual education students, NCLB had negative effects largely due to the prioritization of unrealistic expectations for students and teachers to accomplish in an academic setting. This is important to bilingual education today because it highlights how unimportant and devalued bilingual education was under this law.

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To obtain a Seal of Biliteracy in the United States, a graduating high school student must be bilingual and have bilingual skills. Legislation was passed that includes initiatives such as the Seal of Biliteracy which acknowledges bilingual students for their proficiencies and strengths in bilingualism. I believe that this event is important because it is a positive initiative that honors the knowledge, work, and strength of bilingual students.

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This federal law marked the conclusion of NCLB and its ability to have impacts on the lives of bilingual education students in America. ESSA provides schools and educators with a more flexible opportunity to work toward student learning and growth. ESSA focuses more on inclusion of bilingual students, as opposed to the exclusion that occurred as a result of NCLB.  This event is important because it is the reversal of the damage that NCLB did for bilingual students.