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Lau v. Nichols (1974)



The Court held that the failure to provide an adequate education to non-English- speaking students violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 before even reaching a discussion of the equal protection claim. Justice Douglas indicated that the intent of the school was irrelevant, and looked rather to the detrimental effects of such discrimination on these non-English-speaking students.

This Supreme Court decision had a significant effect on the obligations of school systems toward their bilingual students. Public schools nationwide received mandates to implement programs to ensure that non-English-speaking students received equal opportunities to excel. With this new mandate came complex questions about precisely how far school systems would have to go to accommodate non-English-speaking students. While the Supreme Court has occasionally questioned the Lau ruling in subsequent decisions, it has never overruled this case, and the mandate set forth in this decision is still dominant.

For a full summary of this case, go to:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl? court=us&vol=414&invol=563

© The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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