Alissa Dixon -Chapter 9 by Alissa M Dixon

The Earlier 20th Century

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During this time, the number of immigrants increased greatly. Due to the increase of immigrants, there was a high population of students in schools who did not speak English. There was also a concern in regards to the social, political and economic status of the country because of the lack of English speakers amongst the new population. This led to the creation of the Nationality Act of 1905. This law states that immigrants are required to speak English in order to become a citizen of the United States.

1974 Lau v. Nichols

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This court case was the San Francisco School District versus Chinese-speaking students. This case was brought up to determine whether students who are not English speakers are provided equal opportunities in school. In 1974, this case was accepted in the Supreme Court. The court ruled that “ there is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education” (Baker & Wright, 2021, p.185). Lau remedies were created shortly after this case. These remedies were a set of guidelines that school districts were provided and had to follow. These remedies included English tutoring, English as a second language classes and other bilingual education programs.

1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act ( ESEA)

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This Act was the first federal K-12 law. The federal government started to provide grants to schools in order to meet needs of “educationally deprived children” (Baker & Wright, 2021). This act was stemmed by the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This act prohibited discrimination of race or national origin. These acts are very significant because they were two of the first movements that lessened negative attitudes of immigrants and the possibilities of bilingual programs.

2001 No Child Left Behind

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No child left behind (NCLB) was created to improve the educational outcomes of ELL students. This act focused on what the students lacked, which in this case was English, rather than focusing on what they are learning and who they are. NCLB stated that it was up to each state to determine what programs they would require and what level of funding they would be provided. Rather than country wide, NCLB held each state and their school districts accountable for the language development and academic performance of ELL students.

2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

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This Act reflects and improves the failures of the NCLB act from 2001. One of the main revisions that this act altered from the previous act was the high stake standards as the main measurement of student achievement. Rather than having a giant standardized test to measure student achievement, student growth over time is now considered. ESSA provides funding for various educational programs to help schools and ELL students.