kathleen b. jones clinton city schools [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
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 of1965 and T.C. A. 4-21-90
Anti discriminatory policies and practicesIdentification of English Language LearnersParental notificationService delivery modelsStaffing ratios
Same Does Not Mean EqualLau 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, 1981A 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 DecisionPlyler 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 LawLau v. Nichols
In content area classes, teachers must modifyinstruction and assessment to make content
area curriculum accessible to ESL students.
OCR Policy, 1970 MemorandumClarifies 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 ParticipationNCLB 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.
AssessmentNCLB 2002 Section 3122 (a) (3) A states:ELL’s are expected to make adequate yearly
progress andshow through assessment that they are
learning Englishbetter each year.Participate in TCAPGiven ELDA each springExit ESL program only after showing
proficiency in English
English Only Law in TennesseeTennessee 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.
ConclusionIn 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?
ResourcesU.S. Department of EducationOffice of English Language Acquisition National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Educati
on
Center for Applied LinguisticsEverything ESLDave's ESL CaféPublic Library AssociationWonderful World of Wordless BooksGoogle Translate
References
Iron County School District ESL page. Retrieved online at http://www.iron.k12.ut.us/esl/ESL/Coordinators_files/Federal%20Law%20&%20ESL.pdf
Randolph County Schools. Retrieved online at: http://www.randolph.k12.nc.us/Departments/ESL/Pages/LawsGoverningESLProgram.aspx
Varghese, Manka. An introduction to meeting the needs of English language learners. New Horizons For Learning. Retrieved online at: http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/ell/varghese.htm
Education Law Center. Retrieved online at: rhttp://www.elc-pa.org/law/law_english.html
Honor StatementMTSU Honor Statement:This assignment/assessment was solely written by me. In no way have Iplagiarized (represented the work of another as my own) or otherwise violatedthe copyright laws and academic conventions of fair use. I know that violationsof this policy may result in my being dismissed from Middle Tennessee StateUniversity and/or appropriate legal action being taken against me.Signed Your Name Kathleen B. JonesDate 4/19/2010