The court cases and law

1923 Meyer v. Nebraska

Protected the right to teach foreign languages in private schools — early support for bilingualism

1974

Lau v. Nichols

Schools must give language accommodations to ELLs; equal education ≠ equitable access.

1981

Castañeda v. Pickard

Created a 3-part test to evaluate ESL/bilingual programs: (1) sound plan, (2) qualified staff, (3) evaluation.

1982

Plyler v. Doe

Schools cannot deny education to students based on immigration status.

1968

Bilingual Education Act (Title VII)

First federal law to support bilingual education programs for ELLs.

2001

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Replaced the Bilingual Education Act with emphasis on accountability and testing (Title III for ELLs).

2015

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Replaced NCLB, gave states more control, and continued ELL support under Title III

🧑‍⚖ Lau

Language accommodations (Access)

🛑 Plyler

Protect undocumented kids (Access)

✅ Castañeda

Check if the program works (Program Effectiveness )

🌎 Meyer

Multilingual rights (Language Rights)

📜 Bilingual Education Act

First major federal support

🏫 ESSA

States make decisions, still support ELLs