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:
“Nature has taken more care than the fondest parent for the education and refinement of her children. Consider the silent influence which flowers exert, no less upon the ditcher in the meadow than the lady in the bower. When I walk in the woods, I am reminded that a wise purveyor has been there before me; my most delicate experience is typified there.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)