Bilingual Education Timeline by Victoria H Wittmeyer

Nationality Act of 1906

witt8761 — 2024-05-22 17:10:40 UTC

This Act required immigrants who had entered the United States to speak English before they could become naturalized citizens.

This was the first legislation that was negative towards immigrants and speakers of other languages. It put suppressed minority languages in the US and promoted the use of one majority language.

Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

witt8761 — 2024-05-22 17:15:04 UTC

This Act opened up eligibility for immigration to the United States in many countries by eliminating criteria related to race. This Act also allowed people who were not immigrating for work/labor skills to enter the United States, so family members of previous workers could immigrate to be with their families.

Lau Remedies of 1975

witt8761 — 2024-05-22 17:18:36 UTC

The Office of Civil Rights gave guidelines and obligations for schools to follow with ENL students. This changed the path that some schools were taking and didn't allow them to continue violating the rights of students who were not a part of the majority language (non-English speaking students).

Improving America's Schools Act of 1994

witt8761 — 2024-05-22 17:24:25 UTC

This Act lawfully recognized bilingual education programs in education. It provided funding for dual-language programs with an emphasis on ELL and Native American languages. This Act started to establish more equity in education, rather than un-equal equality efforts previously.

Proposition 58 in California in 2016

witt8761 — 2024-05-22 17:27:24 UTC

Proposition 227 was established in California in 1998, which severely restricted bilingual programs for students, and created submersion in only-English classes for these bilingual students.

Proposition 58 reversed Proposition 227, so bilingual education programs could begin to be established again, and ELL students' services could be met in new bilingual programs.