Bilingual Education

The New York State Education Department’s Office of Bilingual Education was established in 1969 to support to districts offering programs for limited English proficient students. Bilingual education in New York received a further boost in 1974 when the parties in Aspira v. Board of Education signed the ASPIRA Consent Decree declaring the right to transitional bilingual education and English as a Second Language for New York City students. The case, brought by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF), paved the way for expanded bilingual education throughout New York and the nation.

Bilingual education records described as part of this project include:

• The Office of Bilingual Education Director’s files tell the history of bilingual education in New York
• Records of ASPIRA of New York and of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund shed light on Aspira v. Board of Education
• The Juan Padilla Collection, Cornell Migrant Program Records, Cornell Migrant Program Campus Collection, and the Gerald Meyer Papers address the implementation of bilingual programs
• The Alice Cardona Papers illustrate community organizing efforts on behalf of bilingual education
• The papers of Luís Reyes, Lourdes Torres, and Diana Caballero document the work of leaders in bilingual education