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1968: Title VII, Bilingual Education Act, an amendment to Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 

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1968: Title VII, Bilingual Education Act, an amendment to Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 

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Enacted in 1968, The Bilingual Education Act allocated federal funding for bilingual education programs to help MLL's from impoverished backgrounds. This act was the first to indicate that MLL's had special education needs, and provided funding to help accommodate these needs. This event is important to bilingual education today because while there had been legislation in the past that addressed foreign language instruction in schools, this act specifically acknowledged the nature of bilingualism in the United States and the need for specific programs for English language learners, making the issue of bilingual education a federal policy.

References:

Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.

Stewner-Manzanares, G. (1988). The Bilingual Education Act: Twenty Years Later. New Focus, (6). https://ncela.ed.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/files/rcd/BE021037/Fall88_6.pdf

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The Lau Remedies were a set of guidelines for school districts following the Supreme Court decision of Lau v. Nichols. The guidelines sought to make requirements to meet the needs of students who are not yet proficient in English. English as a second language classes, setting realistic time expectations, and requiring some form of bilingual program are all remedies outlined in the guidelines. This event is important to bilingual education because it not only acknowledges that MLL's have different educational needs, but it also gives school districts a specific set of instructions for how to implement some of these changes in order to help their students. These guidelines also helped children whose civil rights had been violated, by mandating that school districts provide programs to meet all students linguistic needs.

References:

Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.

Cardenas, J. A. (1975, December 31). Lau remedies outlined. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED125148

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1994: Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) 

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1994: Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) 

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The Improving America's Schools Act sought to ensure that MLL's received rigorous education with the opportunity to meet high academic standards. The act improved instructional strategies, allocated additional funds for bilingual programs and dual language programs, and made it more difficult for MLL's to be left out of policy making. This was an important event for bilingual education today because it sought to ensure that that MLL's received access to bilingual programs that not only met their specific linguistic needs, but were of high quality and academically rigorous.

References:

Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.

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The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law on January 8th, 2002. It replaced the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) and marked a return to a deficient view of bilingualism in the United States. NCLB referred to MLLs as LEPs (Limited English Proficient) and eliminated the Bilingual Education Act, addressing all issues related to MLL's under Title III "Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students". The act moved away from encouraging bilingual programs and it was no longer valued, instead pushing English language development. States, school districts, and teachers were also held fully accountable for student performance through evaluation of high-stakes examinations of MLL's abilities and AYP scores (adequate yearly progress). Harsh sanctions were even mandated for schools who failed to make AYP two or more years in a row. This was an important event for bilingual education because it marked a federal move away from support for bilingual students and bilingual programs. The effects of this were felt until it was replaced by the ESSA in 2015, however cultural and political implications of NCLB are still seen today such as a placed importance on high-stakes test scores.

References:

Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.

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2015: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 

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2015: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 

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The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law on December 10th, 2015, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act. ESSA mandated that schools were still to be held accountable for their students learning through high-stakes testing and English language proficiency scores, however other failings of the NCLB act were addressed. Schools were allowed greater flexibility in how they assessed their students and curated accountability guidelines. Schools were also allowed any set of standards they see fit without encouragement from the Secretary of Education. This act is important to the bilingual education today because it is the most recent reauthorization of the ESEA and returned more control of educational decisions about bilingual programs and standards back to the state and school districts.

References:

Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.