Saint Paul Public Schools
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Legal Foundations Many experts involved in education, research, and the justice system acknowledge that the key factors leading to educational failure for minority students in the United States are linguistic and cultural differences. In 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the “Lau vs. Nichols” case. This case required schools to provide services for English language learners. Additionally, the Minnesota Legislature passed the “Education for Limited English Proficient Students Act (LEP Act)” in 1980. This Act provided legal definitions for limited English proficient
students, general requirements for programs, aid authorization, teacher
licensures, and parental rights. Both the “Lau vs. Nichols” decision and the LEP Act have provided the general framework for the services provided to ELL students in Saint Paul Public Schools. Details of this framework have been specified in the LEP Compliance Plan submitted to the U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Latino Consent Decree, and the formation of the ELL Hmong Parents Advisory Council. |
