History Timeline Ch 2 by

1954: Brown v. Board of Education

dors8487 — 2025-04-03 18:19:41 UTC

The Supreme Court ruled that "no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws". This case laid the groundwork for future legal challenges against discriminatory practices in education based on factors like language, race, and ethnicity, impacting how MLs are treated and assessed in schools . It established the principle of equal opportunity that continues to be relevant in advocating for fair assessment practices for MLs.

1974: Lau v. Nichols

dors8487 — 2025-04-03 18:20:14 UTC

The Supreme Court made a decision stating that not providing English language instruction to non English speakers is a violation of civil rights. This highlighted that equal access to education requires accommodations for MLs which influenced today's requirement for ENL services and fair testing practices.

2001: No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

dors8487 — 2025-04-03 18:20:35 UTC

The NCLB act was a federal law that required states to ensure that all students, including MLs, take an annual test to track their progress. NCLB increased standardized testing, but ignored language barriers which caused inaccurate results for MLs.

2015: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

dors8487 — 2025-04-03 18:20:51 UTC

The ESSA replaced NCLB and gave states more flexibility, including the ability to develop fairer assessments for MLs. This required states to better track and plan for MLs' progress which improved the test validity and fairness in ML assessment.

1968: Title VII Bilingual Education Act

dors8487 — 2025-04-03 18:21:11 UTC

This was the first federal recognition of the needs of students with limited English proficiency which provided funding for bilingual education programs. This marked the beginning of federal bilingual education policy and highlighted the need for appropriate instruction and assessment for MLs.