Bilingual Education Act Article Index for
Bilingual
Website Links For
Bilingual Education
 

Information About

Bilingual Education Act




The federal funding provided by this act to school districts was used for resources for educational programs, teacher training, development of materials and parent involvement projects. In 1969, $7.5 million was approved for spending on bilingual education programs. Successful programs were guaranteed federal funding for five years.


1974 AMENDMENTS TO THE BILINGUAL EDUCATION ACT

The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was not specific and participation by school districts was voluntary. Civil rights activists claimed that the rights of minority language students were being violated even under this act. The decision of the supreme court case ''Lau V. Nichols'' provided some clarity.

The case was a class-action suit against the San Francisco school district on grounds that many Chinese students were not receiving a quality education because of their limited English skills. The lower courts ruled that the Chinese students were receiving equal education, but the Supreme court disagreed ruling that equivalent school materials did not constitute equal education. The ruling of the case led to an issue by the Department Of Health, Education, And Welfare that mandated school districts to take affirmative steps to remedy English language deficiencies, beyond providing books and other learning materials that are provided to all students.

The Equal Educational Opportunity Act influenced the implementation of the Bilingual Education Act because it stated that language barriers must be overcome by instructional programming.


The amendments

  • "Bilingual Education Program" was defined

  • The program's goals were established

  • Support centers were created

  • Capacity building eforts


The revision defined a "bilingual education program" as one that provided instruction in English and in a native language to allow students to make progress in the educational system. These were not English as a second language ( ESL ) programs. The act affirmed that the goal of the program was to prepare students to succeed in an English-medium classroom as soon as possible while maintaing their native language.


RELATED LINKS



EXTERNAL LINKS