Traces the United States Bilingual Education Act (BEA) from its inception in 1968 through its most recent reauthorization in 1994 as the primary federal legislative effort to provide equal educational opportunity to language minority students in the United States. (Author/VWL)

This report is a summary of the Foreign Language Assistance Act. The Act, enacted as part of the Augustus Hawkins-Robert Stafford Elementary and Secondary Education Improvement Act of 1988 (PL100-297), provides formula grants to state education agencies for the creation of model elementary and secondary foreign language education programs in local…

Professional groups and advisory commissions in international studies are part of a growing trend toward political awareness and activism in the scholarly and pedagogical professions. With a rejuvenated profession and an expanded public, it is up to these groups to use their professionalism and dedication to serve foreign languages. (Author/MSE)

This chapter uses the insights of Dorothy Smith and Anna Yeatman, both feminist scholars, to explore the nature of policy formation through two examples from Australia. Smith and Yeatman argue that all description is both biased and interested. The article documents how the values of pluralism and equity were not served well by Australian policy…

A discussion of national language policy and planning in the United States begins with a brief examination of the de facto policy currently at work and lack of government initiative in establishing and meeting priorities in language education. It then focuses on three policy issues currently facing the American foreign language teaching system.…

The report provides an overview of bilingual education in California. It begins with recent data on demographic trends in the state, particularly among elementary and secondary students, the rate of increase in enrollment of limited-English-speaking (LEP) students, first languages of LEP students, and the family's influence in English language…

This publication on reauthorization recommendations for the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) comprises three documents. The first is a short summary of reauthorization recommendations for Title I and II. Title I recommendations are to eliminate sequential eligibility; promote greater access to training; improve adjustment of performance…

Essays on the campaign to establish English as the United States' official language include: "Official Languages and Language Planning" (Richard Ruiz); "Una lingua, una patria?: Is Monolingualism Beneficial or Harmful to a Nation's Unity?" (David F. Marshall and Roseann D. Gonzalez); "Canadian Perspectives on Official…