40

th
Anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision on
Rights of Linguistic Minorities
NICHOLS
V.
LAU
In 1974, the attorneys for Kenny Lau and 1800 Chinese speaking
students sued the San Francisco School District on the grounds that
these students were not receiving equal access to an education by
virtue of their inability to comprehend English. The unanimous
decision of the US Supreme Court Under state-imposed standards
there is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with
the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students
who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any
meaningful education. Basic English skills are at the very core of what
these public schools teach. Imposition of a requirement that, before a
child can effectively participate in the educational program, he must
already have acquired those basic skills is to make a mockery of public
education. We know that those who do not understand English are
certain to find their classroom experiences wholly incomprehensible
and in no way meaningful.
The attorney for Kenny Lau and 1800 Chinese students in San
Francisco successfully argued that Taking people who are the same
and treating them differently is one type of discrimination but taking
people who are different and treating them the same, is subtler, but,
is equally discriminating.
Language Rights are Civil Rights protected by the 14th amendment to
the US Constitution.
1974 2014
Source: Historical Photograph Collection of San Francisco
Public Librarys San Francisco History Center
Produced by the UTLA Bilingual Education Committee 2014