This document traces the evolution of federal protection of the educational rights of language-minority students, beginning with the enactment of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the first steps of the (then) Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to ensure local school district compliance through its Office of Civil Rights (OCR). A review of federal civil rights laws concludes that state and local educational agencies have special responsibilities for designing and implementing, with the necessary and appropriate resources, programs that will enable national origin-minority students who are limited in their English language proficiency to surmount language barriers. Furthermore, student academic performance is the ultimate criterion used by the courts to judge whether an agency is fulfilling its legal responsibilities to language-minority students. The effects of the following key federal court decisions and laws are discussed: (1) Lau v. Nichols (1974); (2) the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974; (3) the Education of the Handicapped Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (4) Serna v. Portales Municipal Schools (1974); (5) Clintron v. Brentwood Union Free School district (1978); (6) Rios v. Reed (1978); (7) Guadaloupe v. Tempe Elementary School District No. 3. (1978); (8) Castaneda v. Pickard (1981); (9) Keyes v. School District No. 1 (1983); (10) Gomez v. Illinois State Board of Education (1987); and (11) Y. S. v. School District of Philadelphia (1988). A list of 94 references is appended. (FMW)