Kathleen B. Jones Clinton City Schools

Many significant laws have been passed which have affected the way we identify, teach, assess students whose native language is not English.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and T.C. A Anti discriminatory policies and practices Identification of English Language Learners Parental notification Service delivery models Staffing ratios

Same Does Not Mean Equal Lau v. Nichols, 1974 The U.S. Supreme court ruled that providing students the same desks, books, teachers, curriculum. etc. does not ensure that students receive an equal educational opportunity. If English is the language of instruction, then measures must be taken to ensure that English is taught to students who do not speak English or who are limited English proficient.

Equal Educational Opportunity Act, 1974 Mandates that no state shall deny equal education opportunities for any individual by “ the failure by an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by students in an instructional program.

Castaneda v. Pickard, 1981 A program for ELL’s is acceptable if: The district is pursuing a program based on sound research theories and practices. Programs and practices are implemented which are based on sound theories and practices. The district discontinues the use of any program which does not produce positive results in language barriers.

Supreme Court Decision Plyler v. Doe 1982 Prohibits school districts from denying undocumented immigrant children a free public education Rejects the denial or exclusion of educational services for immigrant children due to financial burden

Laws and Legal Decisions Which Have A Significant Impact on Students in Our Schools

1964 Title VI Civil Rights Law Lau v. Nichols In content area classes, teachers must modify instruction and assessment to make content area curriculum accessible to ESL students.

OCR Policy, 1970 Memorandum Clarifies the responsibility of schools to provide opportunities to ELL’s who are deficient in English language skills. Provide parents of language minority students notices containing the same information that is provided to parents of other students. Written notices such as newsletters, activity notices, notices of parent-teacher conferences, discipline notes, and report cards should be provided in a language the parent understands.

Parent Participation NCLB Act of 2002, section 3302 states: Schools should proactively reach out to parents of ELL students to try to involve them in the academic process of their children. Schools should send notices and hold regular meetings to allow these parents a venue to have a say in their child’s education.

Assessment NCLB 2002 Section 3122 (a) (3) A states: ELL’s are expected to make adequate yearly progress and show through assessment that they are learning English better each year. Participate in TCAP Given ELDA each spring Exit ESL program only after showing proficiency in English

English Only Law in Tennessee Tennessee Code Annotated states: English is hereby established as the official and legal language of Tennessee. All communications and publications, including ballots, produced by governmental entities in Tennessee shall be in English, and instruction in the public schools and colleges of Tennessee shall be conducted in English unless the nature of the course would require otherwise. [Acts 1984, ch. 821, § 1.] Bilingual instruction is not provided in Tennessee schools.

Conclusion In most instances, the laws that have been passed and the policies which have been challenged have helped English language learners receive a better education. Some laws which are questionable include the English only laws and some of the assessment laws mandated under NCLB. What are your thoughts regarding these laws?

Resources U.S. Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education Center for Applied Linguistics Everything ESL Dave's ESL Café Public Library Association Wonderful World of Wordless Books Google Translate

References Iron County School District ESL page. Retrieved online at ESL.pdfwww.iron.k12.ut.us/esl/ESL/Coordinators_files/Federal%20Law%20&%20 ESL.pdf Randolph County Schools. Retrieved online at: ram.aspx ram.aspx Varghese, Manka. An introduction to meeting the needs of English language learners. New Horizons For Learning. Retrieved online at: Education Law Center. Retrieved online at: rhttp://

Honor Statement MTSU Honor Statement: This assignment/assessment was solely written by me. In no way have I plagiarized (represented the work of another as my own) or otherwise violated the copyright laws and academic conventions of fair use. I know that violations of this policy may result in my being dismissed from Middle Tennessee State University and/or appropriate legal action being taken against me. Signed Your Name Kathleen B. Jones Date 4/19/2010