The Shaping of ESL in the

American Education
System: A timeline
organized by most
significant events

1830
In the year 1830, due to high
numbers of immigration, the
United States decided to
implement a "No Uniform
Language Policy" in order to 1889
ensure that people of all APA's proposal mandate
cultures and languages feel was implemented in
welcome. Wisconsin and Illinois. This
mandate enforced that
English was to be the only
language used in the
1920 education system.
"Sink or Swim" was
introduced into the school
system and would be used
until 1960. This set of policies
ensured that students were
held back until they had a 1923
specific mastery level in Meyer vs. Nebraska was
English. decided by the U.S.
Supreme Court. This law
makes it legal to teach
foreign languages within the
1930 education system.
Almost all of the United
States had dismissed
Bilingual Instruction within
schools. The largest
influence for this change
1954
was contributed to heavy
Brown v. Board was decided
segregation.
and removed segregation
from the education system.
This opened up a lot of
opportunity for racial
1960 minorities.
Bilingual education was
reinstated within the United
States education system. The
reason for this change was
due to Cuban immigrants
who requested bilingual
1964
education for their children.
Civil Rights Act, Title VI
stated that no student shall
be discriminated against
based on their race,
national origin, or color.

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE...

The Shaping of ESL in the
American Education
System: A timeline
organized by most
significant events
(continued)
1968
The Bilingual Education Act
was introduced in the United
States. This act allowed for
federal funding in schools for
ESL students to receive an
equal education.
1974
Serna v. Portales Municipal
Schools was decided in
favor of Mexican children
having the right to a
bilingual education. Not only
did this decision allow
bilingual language courses,
but also bilingual culture
classes.
1981
Baker-de Kanter Report was
done by the U.S.
Department of Education to
test the effectiveness of
bilingual education in
schools across the United
States.
1987
Gomez v. Illinois was
decided. The outcome of
this case was that State
Education Agencies were
required to guarantee that
bilingual student needs were
met in schools across the
nation.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE...
1974
Lau v. Nichols was decided.
The decision of this case
allowed the Equal Education
Opportunites Act to be
introduced into the U.S.
education system. This act
ensures that every student
shall receive an equal
education, regardless of the
language they speak.
1978
Rios v. Reed was decided
after a school in New York
was found to only be
educating in English. This
raised concern about
bilingual students having
access to Spanish within
schools. This decision
implemented bilingual
classes.
1981
In Texas Castaneda v.
Pickard was finalized with
the argument being that
bilingual students needed
equal resources and
instruction. The outcome of
this case is that students
shouldn't be tested on
success without the proper
resources to succeed.
1994
Title VII was enacted. This
title emphasized the
importance of ESL programs
in schools. By doing so,
school received more
funding for this program and
ensured that it would be
upheld at a local and state
level.

The Shaping of ESL in the
American Education
System: A timeline
organized by most
significant events
(continued)
2001
The "No Child Left Behind
Act" was brought into play.
This act is still enforced to
this day. The title "No Child
Left Behind" is fairly self-
explanatory. The act has
made it so all students must
receive equal opportunity
and they must all excel,
regardless of how long it
may take.
"Education is the
most powerful
weapon which
you can use to
change the
world." -Nelson
Mandela
SOURCE:
HTTPS://WWW.PRECEDEN.COM/TIMELINES/3
21151-HISTORY-OF-ESL-BILINGUAL-
EDUCATION-IN-THE-U-S--TIMELINE
Conclusion
Overall, there are a lot other
events across the nation that
shaped ESL in the American
Education System. It is
important to note that all of
the events discussed in the
timeline were considered
the most significant in terms
of ESL within the education
system. The most fascinating
part about shaping events
surrounding ESL is that a
majority of the events were
court cases, some of which
are more famous than
others. This honestly goes to
show how it takes a village
to speak up for the overall
well-being of others. ESL in
the education system will
always be relevant, as it truly
is about unity, connection,
and understanding amongst
all different ethnicities,
races, cultures, religions, and
languages. Without such
relationships, students all
across the United States
would be much less well-
rounded. This would, in turn,
lead to less immigration and
exposure to different cultural
and ethnic backgrounds all
throughout the United
States. Stressing the
importance of ESL in the
education system has
changed the U.S. for the
best.