This paper describes the author's personal involvement with issues of policy and implementation that were sparked by the "Lau" decision. Topics included are student assessment, the bilingual education wars, the role of research, the paradigm shift with the advent of standards, and California state policy in the education of English…

Dr. Lucinda Lee Katz was born and raised in North Beach, San Francisco, CA adjacent to Chinatown proper, where she spent her K-12 years attending San Francisco's public schools. Throughout her K-12 education, her peers were primarily Chinese, but she never had a Chinese teacher. She attended Chinese school every day after school and on Saturdays…

Controversy surrounding the role of non-English languages in American education has a long history. In the 100 years in which the American Educational Research Association (AERA) has been in existence, two Supreme Court decisions have addressed this issue ("Meyer v. Nebraska," 1923, and "Lau v. Nichols," 1974); federal…

A review of the national and state legislation dealing with bilingual education is presented in the context of an introductory history of the bilingual movement in the United States. This history falls into two periods; the first from 1840-1920, and the second from 1960 to the present. The goal of bilingual education, to teach English without…

This review of the educational progress of Chinese Americans examines the demographic, cultural, and learning characteristics of this group with respect to the historical and current status of bilingual/bicultural program development. The Lau v. Nichols case is cited as a major influence and precedent for the development of federally mandated…

This is a descriptive summary of the characteristics of bilingual students and programs in Seattle, Washington for 1976-1980. The first section presents information on Seattle's students from non-English language backgrounds in regard to their English fluency, language group membership, family income, residential patterns, and by their attrition…

The Lau v. Nichols decision and its implications for school districts are explained in this question and answer format paper. Lau compliance plans are described in full. The number of students necessary for development of a plan or program, what a Lau plan should include, and appropriate program types are detailed. (MK)

A narration of the federal Department of Education's attempt to promulgate regulations protecting minority-language students' civil rights examines the roles of federal agencies, Congress, state and local governments, the courts, civil rights groups, teacher and administrator groups, and the media in the regulatory process. An introductory section…

This book's purpose is to satisfy a perceived need for a straightforward, non-academic, non-bureaucratically worded guide to bilingual education planning and to provide objective information on compliance procedures and federal and state funding opportunities to school district policy planners, whether they be administrators, teachers, or parents.…

Frequently-asked questions about English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction are posed and answered. Questions address the following: the goals of ESL instruction; how ESL differs from bilingual education; how students needing ESL are identified; where interpreters are found; the "Lau Decision"; how to find out how much English the…