Two Important Bilingual Cases: Serna v. Portales and Rios v. Reed

Serna v. Portales (1974) Case Essentials

- It was the first case to raise the issue of bilingual education outside of the desegregation context. - In this case it was argued that New Mexico's Portales Municipal Schools failed to meet the unique needs of Spanish-surnamed students thus violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of "race, color, or national origin" in any federally funded program.

Serna v. Portales Court Findings

The 10th Circuit of Appeals court found the school's program for these students to be inadequate. The court ordered the Portales Municipal Schools to design an educational program that addressed national origin minority students' needs by implementing a bilingual and bicultural curriculum, reviewing assessment procedures and hiring bilingual school personnel.

Serna v. Portales Impact on ESL Instruction

With the decision of this case 6 months after Lau v. Nicols it further clarified that school districts can't ignore the educational and language needs of ELL students.

Rios v. Reed Case Findings

- The Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York found the district's bilingual program inadequate and lacking in regards to teachers knowledge of bilingual teaching strategies, assessment and placement procedures, native language curriculum materials, and native language instruction. - The court did not recommend specific remedies but the federal Office of Civil rights came in to make sure improvements were made in the district.

Rios v. Reed Impact on ESL Instruction

- This case is significant because it made a very strong case for offering bilingual education and for implementing it correctly.

Rios v. Reed (1978) Court Essentials

In this case Puerto Rican parents from the Pastchogue-Medford School District argued under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act that many so-called bilingual education programs were not bilingual but mainly based on ESL.