Non-English Language Learners Case Study

Education for all students has been the mandate of the public school system for many generations. In 1974, in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Lau v. Nichols brought the focus of equal educational opportunities to include those who did not speak English or had limited English proficiency (Lau v. Nichols, January 21, 1974). By examining this court case, one will become familiar with the court’s ruling, understand the impact on the education of non-English speakers including the academic achievement, and improvement of education for the English language learners.
The essence of this court case was that approximately 1,800 students of Chinese ancestry, who did not speak English, where denied adequate instructions in order to pursue an education in the public schools of San Francisco resulting in the violation of the Civil Right Act

First, the court ruling brought the need of English Language learners to the attention of the American public ((Ovando & Combs, 2011, p. 79). Without an initial outcry the needs of these students could have gone unnoticed for a much longer time. Secondly, this case created the foundation for other federal and state legislative action to promote and institute the equal education of all students to encompass students who speak other languages. For example, the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974 incorporated the Lau mandate (Crawford, 1996, para. 7). Lastly, Lau v. Nichols triggered the institution of enforcement procedures to insure that states were abiding by the Supreme Court ruling (Ovando & Combs, 2011, p. 79). Though the follow-up to the mandate was initially dismal, an avenue was at least established for future policies like the Lau Remedies which addressed some of the problems and difficulties of complying with the Supreme Court