Lau v. Nichols
United States Supreme Court
414 U.S. 563 (1974)
Relevant factsFree
The San Francisco Unified School District (defendant) had about 2,800 Chinese-ancestry students who did not speak English, roughly 1,800 of whom received no supplemental English instruction, even though California law made English the basic language of school instruction; non-English-speaking Chinese students (plaintiffs) brought a class action alleging violations of the Equal Protection Clause and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit ruled for the district, and the plaintiffs petitioned for Supreme Court review.
IssueFree
Whether, under the Civil Rights Act, schools that receive federal funding may discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin.