NCLB, signed into law by President George W. Bush, was a reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Government involvement in education reached new heights with the passing of this law. The implication for language policy is this: Schools must provide appropriate supports to English Language Learners since school scores, which are needed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress, are tied to subgroups’ acheivements on standardized tests. Further, students were expected to become proficient in just a few years and be moved into English-only classrooms and take standardized tests in English. Read more details in this Act about Federal support for English language instruction in the executive summary (p.3) here.
