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…

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)

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…

Whether bilingual education programs continue to be model projects for demonstrating viable alternatives for the education of Hispanics or general programs to correct deficits in the education of our children, the selection of students for participation in the programs and the training of teachers for these programs are serious responsibilities.…

The bilingual education movement, begun in the 1960's and virtually mandated by the 1974 Supreme Court Lau vs. Nichols decision, is highly controversial due to public perceptions of bilingual programs; the apparent departure from traditional school language policy; and the concept of bilingual education as a strategy for realizing the social,…

Examines how U.S. public schools have responded to increasing numbers of limited English proficient students, given the limited supply of bilingual teachers and, in this context, examines language segregation in desegregated schools. Educational policymakers have a difficult time reconciling desegregation goals' requirements for comprehensible…

Focusing on the problems of and recommendations for identified areas of concern in the education of Hispanics in the Southeast, this conference report has three major sections. Section I, "Conference Report," outlines the conference proceedings and presents a compilation of critical issues and recommendations concerning affirmative…