Exchange Database
A look back at court decision on Chinese students
Marking the 40th anniversary of a key Supreme Court decision, academic scholars, community leaders, government officials and policymakers attended a national conference on the rights of linguistic minorities at City College of San Francisco. Lau v. Nichols is considered a landmark civil rights case that was initiated by Chinese-American students who lived in San Francisco. The students, many of whom had limited proficiency in English, claimed that they were not receiving special help in their classes. In 1974, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the San Francisco Board of Education illegally discriminated against non-and limited-English speaking Chinese students by denying them equal educational opportunities.
Outcomes:
The conference was held to commemorate and revisit Lau v. Nichols; to examine the impact of the decision on the educational rights of minorities and on bilingual services, according to Wang Ling-chi, professor of Ethnic Studies at University of California Berkeley. As a result of the court case, bilingual programs and English-learning programs have made tremendous progress in the US, especially in the San Francisco area, due to the effort of community leaders, academic scholars and government agencies.
Government?:
No
Type of Exchange:
civic
culture
diplomatic
education/science
Partners:
City College of San Francisco
US Department of Education
Participants (Types):
Academic scholars, community leaders, government officials and policymakers
Exchange Date:
Friday, September 12, 2014
Continuing:
No
Image:
Location:
San Francisco, California
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