History Chapter 9 Marz by Astrid Marz

The Nationality Act (1906)

marz7647 — 2025-10-09 20:50:39 UTC

The Nationality Act (1906) was the first piece of legislation that required immigrants to speak English in order to become citizens (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 183). This event is significant in modern Bilingual Education because it signals a shift in US attitude toward immigrants and non-English languages--a fear that has been and continues to be stoked today for political gain in promoting an "English-only America" viewpoint.

The Bilingual Education Act (1968)

marz7647 — 2025-10-09 20:58:38 UTC

The Bilingual Education Act (1968) was an amendment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that funded grants to establish bilingual education programs for students who did not speak English and were also economically disadvantaged (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 185). This was important because it allowed federal funding for bilingual education and symbolized a shift away from the assimilationist approach that had dominated the US education system prior.

Lau v. Nichols (1974)

marz7647 — 2025-10-09 21:08:27 UTC

Lau v. Nichols (1974) was a case that asked the question: are students receiving their right to an education if that education is only taught in a language that they do not understand? This case was brought about by non-English speaking Chinese immigrants in San Francisco who argued that by providing instruction exclusively in a language that they did not yet understand, the San Francisco school district was violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Baker & Wright, 2021, p. 185). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lau. This is important because it had implications for Bilingual Education and the rights of non-English speaking students in the US, including the Lau Remedies which--among other things--mandated support for English as a second language learning in public schools.

No Child Left Behind (2002)

marz7647 — 2025-10-09 21:30:42 UTC

No Child Left Behind (2002) was signed into law under the Bush administration. It repealed and replaced the Bilingual Education Act with Title III and, while it did not prohibit bilingual education, it was not encouraged or incentivized as it had been previously, and leaned more heavily into English-only instruction. NCLB emphasized high stakes testing and did not make adequate exceptions for ELLs when taking these tests with consequences for schools who did not meet these standards (Baker & Wright, 2021, pp. 190-191). This is important to Bilingual Education today because (1) it (re)introduced a deficit mindset in relation to multilingual learners (i.e. Limited English Proficiency or LEP) and (2) increased the use of standardized testing in schools which can be both stressful and problematic for EBs.

Every Student Succeeds Act (2015)

marz7647 — 2025-10-09 22:18:58 UTC

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in 2015 under the Obama administration and replaced NCLB. While it still emphasized standardized testing, it afforded states more flexibility in managing under performing schools. It also loosened requirements on including ELLs test scores in standardized testing (Baker & Wright, 2021, pp. 195-196). This was important for Bilingual Education because of the flexibility it afforded states in monitoring ELLs, opening of the possibility for more realistic standards for ELLs.