ERIC Number: ED235294
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1981
Pages: 73
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Federal Law of Bilingual Education.
Pouncey, Susan
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974 impose an affirmative obligation on the states to rectify the language deficiencies of non-English-speaking students but do not specify a particular remedy, leaving it to State and local educational authorities to determine which programs, methods, or techniques constitute "appropriate" action. The Bilingual Education Act of 1974, by contrast, is a categorical statute, providing financial assistance in the form of direct grants to local educational agencies for the purposes of developing elementary and secondary school programs to meet the needs of limited-English-speaking school children. Until recently, the Federal courts, faced with suits challenging the legal sufficiency of existing programs under Title VI and EEOA, tended to favor bilingual education over other kinds of compensatory language programs. In keeping with the shifting mood of the country and the shifting policies of the executive branch, the courts have recently been giving the statutory language a more literal construction and have been refusing to infer Congressional intent to favor bilingual education over other kinds of "appopriate" programs. As a result, bilingual education is now viewed as a compensatory method of instruction which a school board may choose to implement in order to fulfill its Federal obligations or a court may impose on a school board which has failed to fulfill its obligations. It is not a deemed right or entitlement. (CMG)
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Reports - General
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Columbia Univ., New York, NY. Center for the Social Sciences.
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Civil Rights Act 1964 Title VI; Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII; Equal Educational Opportunities Act 1974
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A