Lau vs Nichols is a 1974 Supreme Court decision which charged that the San Francisco Unified School District had denied equal educational opportunity to non-English-speaking students by failing to provide them with any special language instruction. The court decision was based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which provides against discrimination in Federal programs, and on a Department of Health, Education, and Welfare memorandum that presents guidelines concerning school district responsibilities toward minority group children deficient in English language skills. The decision stimulated action toward equal educational opportunities for language minorities and resulted in the establishment of National Origin Desegregation Centers (NODAC) which help local school districts meet national origin minority students' needs. An Office of Civil Rights Task Force formulated the Lau remedies, guidelines based on the Lau decision, for meeting the educational needs of limited English speaking students through bilingual and other programs designed to bring program participants up to the educational levels of their English speaking peers. Complimenting the provisions of the Lau remedies is the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 which gives language minorities a statutory right to demand effective language programs from all school districts. (Author/MJL)