Federal/State Laws for ESL Education
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964) Title VI states, “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any problem or activity receiving federal financial assistance from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.” (Title VI of the CRS of 1964, US CFR Part 80).
Lau vs. Nichols, (494 U.S. Reports, 563-72 Oct. term, 1974) This is a landmark case pertaining to language minority education. The San Francisco school system failed to provide English language instruction to 1,800 limited-English proficient Chinese students. The Court of Appeals ruled that:
“Where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin-minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify the language deficiency in order to open its instructional program to these students. 35 Fed. Reg. 11595.
“Students must receive instruction from properly certified, licensed teachers.” (511 IAC 6.1-3- 1.d)
“Each school corporation shall provide appropriate instruction to limited English proficient students.” (511 IAC 6.1-5-8)
Equal Education Opportunities Act (1974) This act insures equal education rights for language minority students.