Bilingual Education History Timeline by Kylee A Edstrom

Nationality Act of 1906

edst2593 — 2025-10-16 21:51:54 UTC

This act enforced immigrants to only speak English when they came to America. This was an order that immigrants had to follow before becoming a citizen in America. Schools banned the use of other use of languages at this time to ensure everyone only spoke English, especially in public setting outside of schools. This is important to know because in today's society, it would be illegal to enforce only one spoken language, it is a right to speak more than one language in America.

Reference: Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (7th ed.). Multilingual Matters.

Lau v. Nichols 1974

edst2593 — 2025-10-16 22:04:05 UTC

A law that the supreme court decided that mainstreaming in schools was not effective enough to teach children how to speak English. This case involved students who were Chinese American students that were in a regular general education classroom where only English was spoken and no additional support/help. This made school very difficult for these students to understand what they are learning in the curriculum. Lau v. Nicholas explained how by keeping it this way, students will not be able to learn at the pace they need to learn at without the support they need. This law implemented that non-speaking English students will now have support in the areas they need support in for their language barrier.

Reference: Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (7th ed.). Multilingual Matters.

California Proposition 227 of 1998

edst2593 — 2025-10-16 22:50:19 UTC

In the state of California in 1998, the state decided to essentially end bilingual education services. Instead, they wanted these students to learn English quickly in their special classes. This then made other states look at bilingual education differently and resulted in a debate. This proposition is extremely important because it was a huge shift in educational status and rights of students. This was relooked at in 2016 and looks at how bilingual education has progressed from the 1900s to now.

Reference: Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (7th ed.). Multilingual Matters.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2002

edst2593 — 2025-10-17 00:47:01 UTC

This act in 2002, is called the No Child Left Behind Act and was signed by George W. Bush. The purpose of this is to establish routines, goals, accommodations, and modifications for all students in the public school setting. For bilingual education students, it was focused on the lack of their English learning skills and how to implement the appropriate accommodations and techniques. However, during this time, the need for ENL teachers were extremely high and for teachers to be able to teach all different kinds of students who are learning at different levels. This act was put in place to be sure that all students are learning at the same appropriate level, especially bilingual students.

Reference: Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (7th ed.). Multilingual Matters.

Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015

edst2593 — 2025-10-17 01:10:34 UTC

In 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to help schools in a replace of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. This act required schools to put a stronger English language proficiency in place. It also provided schools with funding for more resources and support in dual and bilingual education. This is important to today's world because it allows for students to understand that they are learning a new language with the support and help of their home language, adults, and support systems.

Reference: Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2021). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (7th ed.). Multilingual Matters.