Other Federal Laws and Court Rulings

The U.S. Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education, through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires the identification of language minority students by level of English language proficiency

Stated below is an excerpt from the United States Code § 1703. Denial of equal educational opportunity is prohibited:

No state shall deny equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, by - (f) the failure by an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs.

Constitution of the United States, Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

"No State shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) (1974)

“No state shall deny equal educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex or national origin, by the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by its students in its instructional programs."

Lau v. Nichols (1974)

This landmark Supreme Court case established that public schools must take affirmative steps to provide EL students with equal access to educational opportunities. It held that denying non-English speaking students meaningful education was a violation of their civil rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. As a result, schools are required to provide appropriate language support services to ELs.

Castañeda v. Pickard (1981)

The results of this ruling mandates that programs for ESOL students must be (1) based on a sound educational theory, (2) implemented effectively with sufficient resources and personnel, and (3) evaluated to determine whether they are effective in helping students overcome language barriers.

Plyler v. Doe (1982)

In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that undocumented immigrant children, including ELs, have a right to a free public K-12 education. The ruling extended constitutional protections to these students, emphasizing the importance of equal educational opportunities for all.