This digest provides a history of American bilingual education in Spanish from the late 1950's onward, to help educators serve Mexican American students. From 1958 to 1968 curriculum reforms influenced by the launch of Sputnik combined with an influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants from Cuba to effect development of bilingual programs in south Florida public schools; such programs were copied in other areas. Successful programs in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and California led to increased federal interest culminating in pasage, in 1968, of the Title VII Bilingual Education Act. The 1974 Supreme Court decision, Lau v. Nichols, held that school programs conducted exclusively in English denied equal access to education to students who spoke other languages. In 1982, amendment of Title VII legislation gave school districts more flexibility in implementing bilingual programs and offered Title VII projects the option of using English exclusively. Criticism of bilingual programs mounted in the 1980s, however, accompanied by a movement seeking to make English the official language of the nation. This digest suggests that schools must continue to confront the problem of non-English-speaking students in some constructive way. Contains 9 references. (DHP)