Educational Legislation

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965 was amended with the Bilingual Education Act in 1968, which largely thanks to the efforts of Spanish speakers, has become an important part of assimilation and multiculturalism in our society. Indian Hills Elementary supports students with English as a second language, and also has after-school Spanish lessons for prospective learners. 

The re-authorization of ESEA in 2001 was known as No Child Left Behind. The teacher I'm currently studying under did not like NCLB for its emphasis on standardized testing, and its effect with state educational boards eliminating curriculum in the arts, languages, history and music to provide more time for reading, writing and mathematics. 

Despite NCLB being replaced with the Every Student Suceeds Act in 2015, the provisions related to perodic testing were not eliminated. As a result, there may not be a school play at the end of this year. I remember how elated I was to see music education for my classroom, which is weekly and two hours every day. Our students conducted a Christmas concert last semester and are preparing another assembly at the end of the school year.

Service learning has already started to change my perspective with recent legislation that could have a potential impact on classroom policy. A lot of states are expected to follow Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which allows for the arming of qualified teachers and more school police presence. The suggestion of arming teachers in response to school shootings is really not that surprising. Teachers have been turned into the solution, scapegoat, and sacrificial lamb rolled into one.

Federal legislation under the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, would include protections that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex. This bill is still currently in session for the House of Representatives and Senate. I have noticed our school's website includes a non-discrimination policy from Salt Lake City School District, preventing students and district employees from being subjected “on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, and veteran status.”