Steven Robinson Blackman High School
Civil Rights Act Title VI Equal Education Opportunities Act 1974-Supreme Court Case Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court Case Plyler v. Doe 2001 – No Child Left Behind Act
Civil Rights Act Title VI – Outlaws discrimination from any program or activity receiving federal assistance, in this case schools.
Equal Education Opportunities Act – States that schools need to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that exist for ELL students.
1974-Supreme Court Case Lau v. Nichols – Court case ruled that ELL students deserve specialized instruction in order to be treated equally in schools.
Supreme Court Case Plyler v. Doe – Court case ruled that schools cannot deny educational services to undocumented immigrant children.
2001 – No Child Left Behind Act – Bases federal funding for state education on student progress. Some funding can be denied if states are not meeting objectives for LEP students.
English Only Act of 1984 – TN Code Ann T.C.A Rule a. 1 and 2 ii. Title I of No Child Left Behind 2001 Race to the Top
English Only Act of 1984 – TN Code Ann – established English as the official and legal language of Tennessee. It also states that English is the only appropriate language for use in public schools and universities unless the nature of the course requires otherwise (such as foreign language classes).
T.C.A –State legislation that orders that all state agencies comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Rule a. 1 and 2 ii. – Requires that students whose first language is not English be provided with special English instruction if it is needed.
Title I of No Child Left Behind 2001 – The cornerstone of NCLB which sets guidelines for Adequate Yearly Progress, teacher requirements, and accountability, among other things.
Race to the Top – In 2010, the Obama administration awarded $500 million to the state of Tennessee in a competition to see which states could make the strongest changes to strengthen their education systems. Tennessee must meet certain benchmarks in order to receive the money.
The English Only Act of 1984 has prohibited any form of bilingual education from taking place in Tennessee. T.C.A was passed to ensure that state institutions were complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of Rule a. 1 and 2 ii is a response to the Equal Education Opportunities Act of Plyler v. Doe has prohibited schools from turning away undocumented immigrant children. This is extremely significant given the recent anti-immigrant legislation passed in Arizona. No Child Left Behind has held teachers more accountable. Schools throughout the state now have to make sure that all students, including ELLs, are making Adequate Yearly Progress. Tennessee won $500 million through Race to the Top. The state now has to meet several benchmarks in order to obtain that money. This could significantly impact ESL instruction.
Tennessee ESL Program Policy -- tandards.pdf tandards.pdf Tennessee Teachers to Speakers of Other Languages Federal Law and English Language Learners hlanguagelearners.htm hlanguagelearners.htm Lau v. Nichols Wikipedia No Child Left Behind Wikipedia _Act _Act
King Jr., Neil (2010, March 30). “Only Two States Win Race to Top”. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from html html North Carolina Public Schools (n.d.). No Child Left Behind: Title I. Retrieved from Policy: Linking Language Policy to Practice for English Language Learners (2006). Retrieved from State of Tennessee (2007). Opinion No Retrieved from tennessee.gov/attorneygeneral/op/2007/op/op112.pdf Tennessee Department of Education (n.d.) English as a Second Language. Retrieved from
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. Steven Robinson