META - Identification and Assessment
Consent Decree – Identification and Assessment
One important court ruling regarding bilingual education was the case of Lau vs. Nichols, in early 1970. Although the
court ruled children’s Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection) was violated, accountability wasn’t established. The
1990 Consent Decree addressed this issue by outlining ESOL teacher training requirements, as well as needs of ESOL
students needing to be addressed by school districts. Before the Florida Consent Decree, there was a lack of
identification, no trained personnel, and very few ESOL accommodations actually implemented. The Consent Decree
not only created increased identification and expectations, it created a debate concerning which system should be used.
There has been an infusion of ESOL training in Florida which has resulted in all teachers receiving ESOL training, thus
becoming more aware of the needs of ESOL students.
Consent Decree – Equal Access to Appropriate Programming
Equal access to appropriate programming was a major focus in the U.S. District Court Case Number 90-1913, in which
the Agreement’s Principle states “Each limited English proficient (LEP) child enrolled in any program offered by the
Florida Public Schools is entitled to equal access to programming which is appropriate to his or her level of English
proficiency, academic achievement and special needs.” It goes on to state “The primary goal of all such programming is
to…provide equal educational opportunities.” (http://www.fldoe.org/aala/lulac.asp) The Court Case Agreement also
established that the Florida Department of Education would evaluate the appropriateness of Basic ESOL instruction in
each district.
One important court ruling regarding bilingual education was the case of Lau vs. Nichols, in early 1970. Although the
court ruled children’s Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection) was violated, accountability wasn’t established. The
1990 Consent Decree addressed this issue by outlining ESOL teacher training requirements, as well as needs of ESOL
students needing to be addressed by school districts. Before the Florida Consent Decree, there was a lack of
identification, no trained personnel, and very few ESOL accommodations actually implemented. The Consent Decree
not only created increased identification and expectations, it created a debate concerning which system should be used.
There has been an infusion of ESOL training in Florida which has resulted in all teachers receiving ESOL training, thus
becoming more aware of the needs of ESOL students.
Consent Decree – Equal Access to Appropriate Programming
Equal access to appropriate programming was a major focus in the U.S. District Court Case Number 90-1913, in which
the Agreement’s Principle states “Each limited English proficient (LEP) child enrolled in any program offered by the
Florida Public Schools is entitled to equal access to programming which is appropriate to his or her level of English
proficiency, academic achievement and special needs.” It goes on to state “The primary goal of all such programming is
to…provide equal educational opportunities.” (http://www.fldoe.org/aala/lulac.asp) The Court Case Agreement also
established that the Florida Department of Education would evaluate the appropriateness of Basic ESOL instruction in
each district.