Examines the 1974 Supreme Court case in which a group of Chinese American parents sued the San Francisco School Board on behalf of their children for not providing a special learning environment for Chinese-speaking students.

This book employs a narrative policy portraiture approach to recenter the stories of the Chinese community involved in the Lau v. Nichols court case of 1974. This seminal Supreme Court case ruled that the failure to provide adequate and accessible instruction to approximately 1800 students of Chinese ancestry denied them the opportunity to participate in public education and constituted a discrimination on the basis of national origin. While much has been written on language education policy changes for emergent bilinguals in the US, the perspectives of the key actors involved in the case are rarely heard. This book brings Chinese and Chinese American voices to the forefront, placing the participants within the retrospective social context as they reach their own conclusions about the process and outcomes of the case. It draws upon research in language policy and Asian American studies and invites readers to imagine the social futures and possibilities for what Lau v. Nichols means for the 21st century and beyond. The volume fills a significant gap in narration, representation and retrospective research and will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in Asian American studies, bilingual education, educational policy and leadership, as well as teachers, school administrators and policymakers.

"The author describes ten interesting U.S. Supreme Court cases every K-12 teacher should know about because they delve into some of the most important topics educators face every day. These legal issues swirl constantly around million of teachers, administrators, and school personnel. Learn how they can help you address the needs of students"--