Landmark Court Rulings

Regarding ELLs Gallery Walk

Use your and your classmates’ Gallery Walk research guides to answer each of the following
questions.

1. What future case was inspired by the Mendez v. Westminster School District, et al. (1946)
case? What similar issue did these two court cases address?

This case inspired Brown v. Board of Education. Both of these cases addressed the issue of
“separate but equal” in schools and how it truly is inequality.

2. What was the plantiffs claim in the Lau v. Nichols (1974)case?

The plaintiff claimed that ELLs of Chinese descent were not receiving proper educations
because they were not given supplemental instruction in English, making their other instruction
useless to them.

3. What are the Lau Remedies?

The Lau Remedies are guidelines for ELL programs.

4. How is the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA) connected to the Lau v.
Nichols case?

The EEOA connects to Lau v. Nichols because they both require that public schools educate
ELLs with the proper programs that offer them effective English learning support.

5. What are the three requirements for English language acquisition programs that came as a
result of the Castañeda v. Pickard (1978) ruling?

The three requirements for English language acquisition programs that came as a result of
Castañeda v. Pickard are:
1. The program is based on “sound educational theory.”
2. The program must be implemented in an effective way, ensuring there are proper
resources and educators in place.
3. The program must go through a trial period in which it is deemed effective and up to the
standards of providing sufficient language support.

6. What was the outcome for Plyler v. Doe (1982)

This case decided that undocumented children and children of undocumented immigrant
parents are still awarded with Fourteenth Amendment rights, granting them the right to an
education.

7. What do the Flores v. Arizona and Williams v. California cases have in common?

These cases are similar because they both argued that low income and ELL students were not
being offered a proper education with enough resources.