The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Language Rights." Contents include: (1) Navigating Policy Landscapes for…

Two-way dual language immersion programs (TWDL) aim to integrate English speakers and speakers of a partner language in the same classroom to receive content instruction in both languages. Stated goals include bilingualism and biliteracy, high academic achievement, and sociocultural competence. In school districts aiming to reduce segregation,…

As the 1968 Bilingual Education Act (BEA) reaches its 50th anniversary, we provide a critical historical review of its contradictory origins and legacy. By distilling the BEA's history into three periods that we label "power to the people," "pride for the people," and "profit from the people," we demonstrate that the…

Background: Since the passage of "Brown v. Board of Education" in 1954, the demographic landscape of American schools has changed dramatically. By 2011, there were 12.4 million Latinos enrolled in prekindergarten to 12th-grade public schools, which constitutes 23.9% of the U.S. student population. A primary challenge that faces schools…

Migration over the U.S. southwest border in the past decade has been composed of growing numbers of undocumented and asylum-seeking families and children from Mexico and Central America, with larger increases starting in fiscal year (FY) 2017. By U.S. law, states must provide education to all children, regardless of immigration status. Yet…

Little research currently examines language instruction educational programs (LIEPs) in states with a more recent growth of the Latino English learner population. To meet this need, the authors examined the content each of the state LIEPs, focusing chiefly on the extent to which the types of language support, as well as the stipulations associated…

Background:This study grew out of a recent Supreme Court case known as "Horne v Flores." The case began in 1992 in Nogales, Arizona when a 4th grade English learner (EL), Miriam Flores, sued the district and the state for failing to provide her (and other EL students) with an appropriate education as guaranteed by the Equal Educational…

In this article, Luis O. Reyes provides a retrospective of the historic 1974 Aspira Consent Decree between the New York City Board of Education and Aspira of New York, which established bilingual instruction as a legally enforceable federal entitlement for New York City's non-English-speaking Puerto Rican and Latino students. Reyes analyzes the…

School desegregation can no longer continue to be an exclusive black and white issue. With demographers predicting that Hispanics will be the largest minority in the U.S. at the turn of the century, educators are facing the difficult challenge of integrating this minority into the mainstream of American education. Despite a quarter century of…

Highlights the more common objections raised to the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (1980) regarding bilingual educational rights of national origin minority children and responds to those objections with factual information. (CM)

Argues that educational justice requires that schools and educators take affirmative action to apply the principles of federal and state constitutional provisions, statutes, and cases to cyberspace (Internet) access. Describes demographics of "digital divide." Analyzes developing law of cyberspace and addresses its implications for law,…

This newsletter contains seven articles related to the educational rights of culturally diverse language-minority students. "20 Years after Lau: In Pursuit of Equity Not Just a Language Response Program," by Alicia Salinas Sosa, points out that educational responses to Lau vs. Nichols have been minimum-compliance programmatic responses…

Bilingual education has had great impact on education in the United States. Bilingual education programs have existed since 1845. Between 1854-1877, eight states enacted laws stipulating that local school boards had the power to require English-German bilingual programs. Many bilingual education programs were created, thrived, and eventually died;…

This collection of short articles focuses on bilingual education for Hispanics. The lead article cites statistics concerning the education of Hispanics, the segregation of Hispanics in schools, and the educational level they are likely to attain. The second article presents a historical perspective on bilingual education in American schools and…

Because Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States and are projected to become the largest minority during the 1980's, the education system must be more responsive to their needs. Fewer Hispanic children enroll in school than do non-Hispanics, many of them fall behind in school, and they have higher attrition rates than…