The Bilingual Education Act, Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968 (or BEA) was the first piece of 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 later signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 2, 1968. As such, it was the first federal legislation signed into law in the 1968 calendar year. The bill was passed as Title VII, an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). While many states such as California and Texas already had local and state policies to help language minority students, the BEA established the first federal policy aiding LESA students. 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. While the BEA addressed all linguistic minorities in the country, the passage of the act was spearheaded by Spanish speakers.
Read more about Bilingual Education Act: Cultural Implications, Implementation and Funding, Significant Court Decisions, The Bilingual Education Act and No Child Left Behind
Famous quotes containing the words education and/or act:
“... the whole tenour of female education ... tends to render the best disposed romantic and inconstant; and the remainder vain and mean.”
—Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
“Remember how often you have postponed minding your interest, and let slip those opportunities the gods have given you. It is now high time to consider what sort of world you are part of, and from what kind of governor of it you are descended; that you have a set period assigned you to act in, and unless you improve it to brighten and compose your thoughts, it will quickly run off with you, and be lost beyond recovery.”
—Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121–180)