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Educational Excellence and Equity for ELLs

The National Association for Bilingual Education is more than a professional organization. Since its founding in 1976, NABE has also been a tireless advocate for language-minority students. We have worked actively to promote educational excellence and equity for this long-underserved group. In concrete terms, this has meant:

1. Advocacy for federal and state legislation to address the unique needs of English language learners. (Letter sent to Honorable Dianne Feinstein  and
   Honorable Barbara Boxer)
2. Advocacy for adequate funding, well trained teachers, appropriate assessments, and other resources for English learner programs.
3. Advocacy for equal educational opportunity, including strong civil-rights policies and aggressive enforcement of the Lau v. Nichols decision.
4. Advocacy against political attacks on language-minority communities, such as the English Only movement and anti-bilingual-education initiatives.

Despite political resistance, we have seen significant progress in all these areas over the years.  However, the school reform landscape has changed, with the advent of the standards-and-goals movement, high-stakes testing, and all-out attacks on public education. In particular, the Bilingual Education Act was repealed and replaced by the No Child Left Behind Act.