The Bilingual Education Act is one of an example of a controversial policy issue within education and equality. Based on the 1974 amendments, this act is defined as an education program that provides Limited English Speaking Ability (LESA) students with lessons in both English and their native languages. In 1978 amendments, the eligibility of the bilingual education program was then extended to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students which referred to “sufficiently difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English Language”. Overall, the main goal of this program is to promote equal education opportunity that will allow the students with language barrier to perform better in classroom. The evidence in the effectiveness …show more content…
They argue that the bilingual education had brought forth extra funding to hire professional and bilingual staff at schools. Specifically in Texas, in comparison to schools which do not implement bilingual education program, the schools equipped with the program cost $402 more per student. Moreover, with this extra funding, the opposition parties contend that the program is ineffective in improving LEP students’ achievement. In order to support this statement, critics use the report by Keith A Baker et. al which review twenty eight studies examining the effectiveness of the bilingual program. Baker concluded that there is no evidence and justification that support “the necessities” of providing instructions in native language of LEP students. Further, in his review, Baker suggests to implement immersion program (English only content) as it shows more promising results in improving students’ achievements. Apart from this argument, critics also claims that bilingual education program could promote segregation between LEP and English proficient student that could lead to social problems. Further, they assert that there is a shortage in the amount of certified bilingual instructors available, causing bilingual education is not as effective as it was