The Importance of Educational Improvements in California Schools

The case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), found that education was an important function. The courts viewed education as playing an important role in the future of the United States and since states chose to provide it, education then is a right that must be available to all on equal terms ( (Murdick, Gartin, & Fowler, 2014). The question of equal terms has been an uphill battle for families that have children with disabilities. There were many acts that addressed educational issues of children with disabilities. The elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 was created to improve education for children that were disadvantaged and it expanded funding. 1974 Education of the Handicapped

Arizona has been known for a few years to be a part of the worst educational performance and it only makes people question when the board of education will do something or anything at all to change this. Arizona’s school system drastically dropped from ranks for several years now. It’s important that changes be made to the ineffective school system. The future of the world has always lied in the hands of the youngest generation because soon enough they will grow up to be the presidents and government of the United States. Proving, of course, that one should not settle for anything less than the best education for all the young children, no matter where they live. Arizona was placed “48 out of the 50” states in educational performance and being that low should be a signal for the board of education to make strict changes to enhance its educational system (Bernardo).

School principals will find in the following lawsuits the legal framework to provide educational services to ELLs in public schools. Baker (1997) points out that a landmark case in favor of bilingual education in the United States was a lawsuit in 1970. The case was a class-action suit brought by the parents of nearly 3000 Chinese students against the San Francisco School District (Lyons, 1990). This case originated that in 1974 the Unites States Supreme Court handed down its only substantive decision regarding the responsibilities of school districts serving ELLs (Lyons, 1990). The court indicated that under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the Chinese students were entitled to receive specific support to allow them full participation in the school program (Crawford, 1989). This case was known as Lau v. Nichols and its verdict outlawed English submersion programs for language minority students, and resulted in nationwide ‘Lau Remedies’ (Baker, 1997). Lyons (1990) writes that the ‘Lau Remedies’ specified how to identify and evaluate language minority students, determine appropriate instruction, decide when ELLs were ready for mainstream, and determine the professional standards expected of teachers serving language minority students. Under the Lau Remedies school districts were encouraged to provide

Nevada has consistently been one of the states in the United States with the lowest graduation rates. The most recent statistics show that Nevada had a 62% graduation rate in 2011, a 63% graduation rate in 2012, and a 71% graduation rate in 2013 (“Public High School,” n.d.). Although the graduation rate has increased by 8%, Nevada’s graduation rate is still significantly lower than that of the national average graduation rate at 81% (“Public High School,” n.d.). In his 2015 State of the State Address, Nevada governor Brian Sandoval introduced proposals to reform Nevada’s current education system and improve underperforming schools, more than 10% of which are part of the Clark County School District (CCSD), the largest school district in Nevada (Geer-Thevenot, 2015). This essay focuses specifically on the underperforming schools of the CCSD and why they are struggling to increase their graduation rates.

As a recent analysis, America’s colleges and universities are quietly shifting the burden of their big tuition increases onto low-income students, while many higher-income families are seeing their college costs rise more slowly, or even fall” (Eskow). Though education is the basic human right, most of the people in the U.S. are not being able to gain it as because of its rising cost. Since the 1970s, tuition and fees at public institutions have increased by more than 350 percent, while pay for working- and middle-class households has stagnated. As a result, the cost of a public-college education now accounts for almost 15 percent of the average family's annual income; 40 years ago it was about 4 percent (Kenneth W. Warren and Samir Sonti). The tuition and fees are increasing in such a way that the young Americans aren’t as educated as the young citizens of many other developed countries. The U.S. ranks 14th in the world in the percentage of 25-34 year-olds with higher education (42%).” When all adults of working age are considered, the US is still one of the highest-educated countries in the world. But when this age group is considered, we are falling behind (Richard Eskow). That’s the personal loss for the young people of the U.S. Education is not a privilege of the rich and well-to-do; it is the inalienable right of every people. It is a powerful tool by which people can lift

WAC 162-28-040 - Washington State English language limitations and national origin discrimination (Washington State Legislature, 2003). This law states that schools must provide equal opportunity to children of all national origins including those who are deficient in English language skills and meet the following standards:

One of the important landmark educational court cases, is the 1974 ruling of Lau v. Nichols. As more immigrants establish homes in the United States, they face many difficulties adapting to everyday life having English as their second language or having no knowledge of the English language at all. During 1971, San Francisco schools were integrated and created more diverse and bilingual groups of students which exemplified this issue within the school system (Developing ELL Programs). Though previous actions had been made to accommodate students with lack of English proficiency, there were still a large number of students that did not receive any help.

The public school system of America is the driving force of the nation’s job market. There is a direct correlation between the nation’s job market and the nation’s economic opulence. Despite education being at an all-time high for tax dollars spent, the heightened accessibility of schools across the country, and continuation of schooling after high school more than ever, the public school system of the United States continues to pump out insufficient workers to the work force. For almost two hundred years, the citizens of America have held a belief that going through the school system will be the necessary element to the life one wants to live in America. Over the years, schooling emitted a false hope that made job assurance possible. Fifty

When it comes to students that have not officially mastered the English Language, schools should give students the opportunity to learn it. Schools are supposed to arrange services for students who are not familiar with the English Language. All students should be treated with the same respect and all students should receive some type of education no matter what their background comes from. English is a language that is very popular today in this world. When it comes to legal obligations for students that are English language learners, every student is supposed to have equal access to their education. It was mentioned that in the year of 1970 the Federal Office for Civil Rights, distributed a letter to all school’s districts mentioning that

“California has cut $18 billion, one-third of state school funding, from money for kindergarten through high school over the past three years.” USA Today (Welch, 2011). Budget cuts to the California Public School System, which is the underlying factor in the deterioration of the quality of education, has had a negative impact on every facet of society. From students to teachers to employers, all have felt the effects of decreased funding of schools. The state of California is headed in the wrong direction by reducing school funding and unless a solution is found to minimize or put a halt to these reductions, our children will bear the

A few of the court cases and acts that changed the way for ELL students are Bilingual Education act (1968), Serna v. Portales Municipal Schools (1972), Lau v. Nichols (1974), Equal Educational Opportunities Act (1974), and Flores v. Arizona (2008). The Bilingual Education Act (1968) also known as Title VII, was establish to provide funding to educational programs, teacher training, development of instructional materials, and promotion of parent involvement. This act was created to prove that money should not be an issues when educating ELL students. The case of Serna v. Portales Municipal Schools (1972) helped get more get more Spanish speaking teacher into classrooms to help ELL students and develop more bilingual lesson plans. This case showed

In the article “Bring on the Elites!”, Joel Stein shares the widespread view that education is essential to future success. Based on this view, some perceive the population growth in America and resulting increase in the number of students attending public school as positive, since the benefits of education now extend to more people. However, this trend points to a pressing problem in the education system. Without funding for sufficient facilities or teachers to accommodate additional students, administrators repeatedly push schools past capacity to the detriment of both students and staff. In economic terms, there is excess demand in comparison to supply, resulting in disequilibrium for the consumers. The current system is turning education into a commodity meant for mass production.

Nichols whereas in San Francisco, an influx of students of Chinese descent began to take classes in one of San Francisco's High Schools. There were approximately 2,900 Chinese students enrolled and one of them being, Kinney Kinmon Lau. However, Lau and many other students were not enrolled in supplemental English courses, required for graduation. It was argued that "the mastery of English by all pupils in the schools is a key state goal"(Bon,"Lau v Nichols"). Positively that all changed when Lau and many other students received justice when the San Francisco Unified School district violated section 601 that stated, federally funded schools cannot deny or be subjected to discrimination in any program or activity. Lau was separated from his peers but still attended the same school undermining the statement that Separate is

These cases helped to shape multicultural education during the 70’s. In 1974, the Lau vs. Nichols case was brought about by Chinese students in California who claimed that they were not achieving in school because of their limited proficiency in the English Language. The students argued that not enough was being done in school to help overcome this challenge and felt it was because of their culture. The judge ruled in favor of the students and the case established the right of language minority students to educational accommodations. This verdict helped to make way for the 1979 case of Martin Luther King Elementary School vs. Ann Arbor School District. The suit was brought about by Black students who believed that the district did not seriously take their speaking of non-standard English seriously and this inadvertently caused them to obtain low reading scores. The judge ruled that the school district was responsible for identifying Black English speakers in the schools and must use that knowledge in teaching such students how to read Standard English. One key case that helped to prove the change that multicultural education had in the classroom was the 1970 case of Diana V. California State Board of Education. Mexican students felt that the school system did not take into account their Mexican culture and language into testing. The judge ruled in their favor and when the students were tested in their native language the

America is a blessed country in numerous ways, and its citizens reap the benefits. Free education is one major benefit that not many other countries provide for their citizens. While it is only a privilege to many, but in the States, people have the right to be educated. However, free education cannot be translated to success for all. For those motivated ones who cherish the privilege to be educated are those who climb up the success ladders later in life. For a certain majority of students in the States, our current educational system may not seem to serve its purpose. In this paper, I will explore two possible adjustments that could be made to improve our system to benefit our next generation. Academic improvement and class size