Allison La Rue

T&L 401
Reflection on a Court Case
November 14, 2019
 After completing the Landmark Court Case activity, the Lau vs. Nichols case really

sparked my interest. This case decided that the lack of language instruction in schools for ELL

students violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I researched this court case further and found that

when this case was brought to the court system many Chinese students who were not fluent in

English were placed into regular school classrooms and were not providing them with support.

This was shocking for me to hear as so much of my instruction in school has involved providing

ELL students the opportunities and supports that they need to be successful in school

Since the Lau vs. Nichols case decided in favor of Lau, I am pleased to say that this has

made life at school much different for ELL students since. Now, school districts across the

nation are required to provide each student with equal access and opportunity to succeed. ELL

students must be given the resources that they need to be successful and cannot be deprived of

these resources. As a student who has spent years in school studying to earn their ELL

endorsement so we can teach these students, I know that teaching these students is not an easy

task. However, in our public-school system, we need to take the time to ensure all of our students

are receiving the tools they need to be successful, whether this be translators, specific courses or

interpreters. The Lau vs. Nichols case opened the eyes of school districts and showed them what

they need to be doing to ensure their students are able to be successful.

I feel that because of the decision in the Lau vs. Nichols case, the ELL students of today

will have a much better experience in school. Students will be given the supports that they need

to have and they will have an equal opportunity to achieve this success just as other students in

the room do. As a future educator, I will take the knowledge of the Lau vs. Nichols case with me

to ensure that every student who is an ELL is getting the proper language instruction that they

need. Every student needs to the opportunity to succeed, and this case ensured this for the future.