Bilingual Education was originally intended to make sure students would not
fall behind due to their lack of English proficiency. At the same time, the students were to learn English as a second
language. The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was the first
official federal recognition of students with limited English speaking
ability. Since then, the act has
changed four times because of the changing of these students’ needs and society
overall. There are four different
methods to use Bilingual Education:
§
English Immersion: Instruction is
entirely in English
§
English as a 2nd
Language: Same as immersion but may include some support to students in
their native language.
§
Transitional Bilingual
Education: Some subjects are in the
students’ native language but a certain amount of time each day is spent
working on developing English skills.
§
Two-way Bilingual
Education: Instruction is given in two
languages, usually in the same classroom with the goal of the student becoming
more proficient in both languages.
(www.educationweek.org/context/topics/issuespage)
“There are
more than 1.4 million Californian children who speak a language other than
English. Nationally, there are three
times that many.” (www.educationweek.org)
1968- The Bilingual Education Act provides funds in the form
of competitive grants directly to school districts to be used for:
§
Resources for educational programs
§
Training for teachers and aides
§
Development or dissemination of materials
§
Parent involvement projects
1974- The new amendments improved on the overall goal and the
definition of the program. It also had
some new additions.
§
The goal was to prepare LESA students to be able to actively
participate in the classroom as soon as possible.
§
The new definition of the bilingual education program was to
teach English and the students’ native language to allow the student to
progress effectively through the education system.
§
The establishment of regional support centers of consultants and
trainers to provide guidance and support to schools.
§
It also stipulated capacity building efforts by funding schools’
major efforts to expand curricula, staff, and research for bilingual programs.
1978- These amendments expanded the eligibility for bilingual
programs from ‘limited English speaking ability’ to those of ‘limited English
proficiency’. This new term refers to
students with “sufficient difficulty speaking, reading , writing, or
understanding the English language to deny such individuals the opportunity to
learn successfully in classrooms where the language of instruction is
English.” The amendments also specified
the goals of transitional bilingual education programs. These were to prepare LEP students to enter
the classroom as quickly as possible.
Native languages were only to be used as needed for students to become
competent in English.
Programs that only used the native languages were disqualified for
funding.
Funding for the Bilingual Education Acts
In 1968, congress did not
pass an appropriation measure for title VII.
The following year it approved $7.5 million and 27,000 students were in
title VII funded programs. Besides the
four main programs, funding covered development and dissemination of
instructional materials. To receive
further funding, title VII projects were evaluated at the finish of each school
year. A successful project could
receive funding for up to five more years, after which, the school district
would assume all costs.
In 1974 the funding
increased from $7.5 million to $68 million, and instead of the 27,000 students
it previously served, it now funded 339,600 students. This, in turn, expanded the competition from the school districts
to receive the grants. Title VII funded:
§
383 school districts for
classroom projects in 65 languages
§
15 training resource
centers for providing training and technical assistance to school districts
§
5 centers for materials
development
The funding increased to
$135 million in 1978. This included
funds for:
§
565 school districts
§
Training and technical
resource centers
§
Fellowships for graduate
students
§
Teacher training
programs for undergraduate students preparing to become bilingual teachers.
In 1984 funding only
increased to $139.4 million, a big drop compared to the 1980 amount of $167
million. Funding was divided up in
three ways:
§
60% of all funding was
for financial assistance for Part A (instructional programs)
The funding of the 1988
Bilingual Education Act is allocated $152 million. This is divided in three ways:
§
60% are reserved for
Part A programs
§
25% are reserved for
Part C training programs
(www.ncbe.gwu.edu)
(Timeline continued)
In addition, the goals of transitional bilingual education were more specific. These programs were to prepare limited English proficient students to enter the regular classroom as soon as possible. The native language was only to be used as necessary.
1984- Grants were awarded for several types of special programs
for LEP students:
§
Transitional bilingual education programs
§
Two-way Bilingual Education
§
English Immersion
These amendments also stipulated that parents/guardians do more
in the role in the education of LEP students.
The parents would have a choice to have their children enrolled in these
special classes or in mainstream classes.
1988- This Act
authorizes 75% of total grant funds to school districts for transitional
bilingual education. 25% will go to
special alternative instructional programs, instead of the 10% that was the
previous allotment. There is also a
three-year limit on a student’s participation in these programs. This Act puts a great emphasis on the
training and retraining qualified personnel.
(www.ncbe.gwu.edu)
www.ncbe.gwu.edu/ncbepubs/classics/focus/06bea.htm
www.cal.org/ericcll/digest/digestglobal.html
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