 Kelly Fogle EDPS

 Included with Brown v. Board of Education as one of the cases with the greatest impact on the field of education in the past 60 years (Zirkel, 2001)  Expanded on Brown v. Board of Education by seeking a ruling on exclusionary practices – intentional or not (Moran, 2005)

 San Francisco Unified School District was integrated in 1971  2,856 non-English speaking Chinese students in the school system o 1,800 did not receive any supplemental English instruction and were immersed in the regular curriculum full-time  Non-English speaking students felt they were denied a meaningful public education (Sugarman & Widess, 1974)

 1,800 Chinese-American students o Kam Wai Lau, mother of one of the students (Kinney Kinmon Lau)  Education is not ‘meaningful’ if students are taught in a language they are not able to understand (Sugarman & Widess, 1974) Photo credit: Historical photo collection of San Francisco Public Library’s San Francisco History Center

 Alan H. Nichols o President of the Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District  Did not have resources to provide bilingual education o Lack of budget and teachers

 “English-only” policy denies non-English speaking students equal protection of the laws o Education is not ‘meaningful’ if students are taught in a language they are not able to understand  Consequences of a “sink or swim?” approach: o Slower-paced learning o Grade retention o Placement in special education classes  Lau and colleagues’ suggestions (Crawford, 1996; Sugarman & Widess, 1974)

 Case was first heard by the District Court for the Northern District of California o RULING: School district offered “the same education” to the plaintiffs as it did to other students in the district Plaintiffs denied relief  Decision appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit o Plaintiffs denied relief Reasoning: “every student brings to the starting line of his educational career, different advantages and disadvantages” which may impact his education “apart from any contribution by the school system”   U.S. Supreme Court (Moran, 2005; Sugarman & Widess, 1974)

 Consequences of a decision in favor of the plaintiffs: o Substantial positive changes in the education of non-English- speaking children o Could be viewed as judicial intrusion into local education policies  Consequences of a decision in favor of the defendants: o Could be viewed as a lack of commitment to equal educational opportunity for minority children Consider time period – integration of San Francisco schools was relatively recent (Sugarman & Widess, 1974)

 January 21, Decision was unanimously reversed  San Francisco school system denied students a meaningful opportunity to participate in the public educational program o Violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 o Students have the right to a meaningful education under the school’s program Calls for more than just English language development classes o Left remedy for the problem up to local governments ESL classes + access to general curriculum (Lucas & Katz, 1994; Moran, 2005; Sugarman & Widess, 1974) Warren Burger Supreme Court

 California o Bilingual education plan (Crawford, 1996)  The “Lau Remedies” o Identify student’s primary/home language o Diagnostic/prescriptive approach o Educational program selection o Required and elective courses o Instructional personnel requirements o Evaluation (Baker & deKanter, 1983; Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1976)

 Lau Remedies were not formalized (Reagan administration) o Office of Civil Rights cut back enforcement o Funding cuts for ELL programs LEP population increased by 40%, funding decreased by 40% “Additive bilingualism” – L2 development does not need to be at the expense of L1 (Crawford, 1996)  Lau decision being “undone” by law: o Guardians Association v. Civil Service Commission “Title VI authorizes compensatory relief only for purposeful wrongs, not actions with adverse effects.” o Alexander v. Sandoval Private plaintiffs can only file lawsuits for intentional discrimination 14 th Amendment o Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) Only applies to instruction, not high stakes testing (Moran, 2005)

 Insufficient resources and staff for ELL programs o Lack of evidence-based materials, assessments, etc.  Politics o Inconsistent support for programs based on voter attitudes Anti-immigrant bias (Crawford, 1996)

 Office of English Learning and Migrant Education o Title III of NCLB Seeks to help Limited English Proficient (LEP) students become proficient in English and meet the same academic standards as their peers o Procedures: Home Language Survey LAS Links Placement test Identification as LEP Annual Parent Notification Individual Learning Plan Annual LAS Links assessment English development services until student receives two Level 5 scores Non-English Speaking Program (NESP) State funded for eligible school corporations (Indiana Department of Education, 2011)

 Learning another language takes time (Collier, 1989)  Programs for LEP students o Bilingual Education o Special Alternative Instructional Programs (SAIPs) generally English-only instruction Partial bilingual programs E.g., Group work in native language (Baker & deKanter, 1983; Lucas & Katz, 1994)  Challenges for School Psychologists? o RTI o Comprehensive assessment Tests with high language and cultural loadings (Lopez et al., 1996; Orosco & Klingner, 2010).

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