Lau vs.Nichols free essay sample

Nichols? During its 1974/75 term the U. S. Supreme Court heard a case filed against the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a class action suit brought by non-English speaking Chinese students against officials responsible for the operation of the San Francisco Unified School District. Certiorari[1] is an extraordinary judicial review in which the U. S. Supreme Court review cases of public importance. The primary issue of the case was whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment [to the U. S. Constitution, July 9, 1868[2]] apply to the students of the respondents’ school district and whether it can be interpreted in such way that the school system is responsible to assure that students of a particular race, color or national origin [in Lau v. Nichols non-English speaking Chinese students] cannot be denied the opportunity to obtain the same education that is generally obtained by other students in the system. We will write a custom essay sample on Lau vs.Nichols or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Instead of applying the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment the Supreme Court applied the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and cited the statement of Senator Humphrey â€Å"Simple justice requires that public funds [such as funds used by the public education system and received through the channels of federal financial assistance], to which all taxpayers of all races contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes, or results in racial discrimination. † The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the udgment of the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit. In practice and in everyday English it meant that the School District had to offer supplemental English language courses to all (about 1,800 more) non-English speaking Chinese students. I agree with the decision of the Supreme Court because as the Justices rightly stated, language skills are needed to advance in education and without proper proficiency in the language of instructions, studen ts cannot progress, which will further lead to unequal educational opportunities. In addition, Federal budget allocated education money should be used equally and without discrimination. Because of my age and also for living part of my life outside the U. S. , I was not privy to how the decision immediately affected the public education but I am certain that Federal and State funds were and have been since allocated to English language courses in public schools and such courses are made available to all students whose first language is not English. It is my observation that our current system follows the ruling of Lau v. Nichols and makes every effort to fulfill the needs of those students whose first language is not English or are not proficient in the English language. In addition, there are public schools that offer bi-lingual education and encourage students to become fluent in English but also maintain their native language. [1]A writ of superior court to call up the records of an inferior court or a body acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, see: http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/certiorari [2] http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution