bilingual education started in the us in 1940.
when did bilingual education start in the us?
1940
the bilingual education act (bea), also known as the title vii of the elementary and secondary education amendments of 1967, was the first united states federal legislation that recognized the needs of limited english speaking ability (lesa) students. the bea was introduced in 1967 by texas senator ralph yarborough and was both approved by the 90th united states congress and signed by president lyndon b. johnson on january 2, 1968. while some states, such as california and texas, and numerous local school districts around the country already had policies and programs designed to meet the special educational needs of elementary and secondary school students not fluent in the english language, this act signaled that the federal government now also recognized the need for and value of bilingual education programs in u.s. public education. passed on the heels of the civil rights movement, its purpose was to provide school districts with federal funds, in the form of competitive grants, to establish innovative educational programs for students with limited english speaking ability.
bilingual education act
the very first instance of bilingual education in the united states occurred with polish immigrants in the first permanent english settlement of virginia in what is now the united states. the poles provided the community with manufactured pitch necessary to prevent the sinking of ships, and glass works among other industries. when the house of burgesses met in 1619, the rights extended only to englishmen. the poles, in turn, launched the first recorded strike in the new world. in dire need of their skills and industries, the poles received the "rights of englishmen," and established the first bilingual schools with subjects taught in english and polish. from this first documented historic beginning, bilingual education existed in some form or another in the united states. during the 18th century, franciscan missionaries from california to texas used indigenous languages for translating and teaching the catholic catechism to native americans. by the mid-19th century, private and public bilingual schools had include such native languages as czech, dutch, french, german, norwegian, spanish, and swedish. ohio became the first state in 1839, to adopt a bilingual education law, authorizing german-english instruction at parents' request. louisiana enacted an identical provision for french and english in 1847, and the new mexico territory did so for spanish and english in 1850. by the end of the 19th century, about a dozen states had passed similar laws. elsewhere, many localities provided bilingual instruction without state sanction, in languages as diverse as norwegian, italian, polish, czech, and cherokee. beginning in 1959, public schools in miami introduced bilingual programs. in 1968 the u.s., with title vii of the elementary and secondary education act, or, informally, the bilingual education act, congress first mandated bilingual education in order to give immigrants access to education in their "first" language. the act was amended in 1988. federal spending on bilingual education jumped from $7.5 million in 1968 to $150 million by 1979.
bilingual education