MALDEF is committed to ensuring that public schools do not ignore the needs of students with limited English proficiency and creating opportunities for all students to succeed academically. In its landmark 1974 decision in Lau v. Nichols, the United States Supreme Court held that public schools cannot fail to provide for the needs of their non-English speaking students, reasoning that “students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education,” and that “[b]asic English skills are at the very core of what these public schools teach.”
Court Cases Education
United States and CRUCIAL v. Ector County Independent School District
Major Ruling in Case for Texas English Language Learner Students
Major Ruling in Case for Texas English Language Learner Students
MALDEF Strongly Supports Introduction of ‘Strengthening Communities Through Education and Integration Act of 2008’
MALDEF Apoya Fuertemente La Introducción Del “Acta de 2008 Para El Fortalecimiento De Las Comunidades A Través De La Educación Y La Integración”
Court Rejects Maricopa Community College District’s Motion To End Lawsuit
Los Angeles Conservancy v. Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles Conservancy v. Salvador Guzman Sosa
Texas Withdraws Discriminatory Attorney General Opinion in the Face of MALDEF Lawsuit
Dominguez v. State of Texas (Hazlewood Act)
MALDEF Argues Before Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals To Protect Historic Desegregation Provisions in Texas School Districts
MALDEF Argues Before Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals To Protect Historic Desegregation Provisions in Texas School Districts
MALDEF Intervenes on Behalf of LULAC and GI Forum to Protect Desegregation Provisions in Texas School Districts
MALDEF Intervenes on Behalf of LULAC and GI Forum to Protect Desegregation Provisions in Texas School Districts
Additional Veterans and Universities Added to Legal Challengae of Exclusion of Military Veterans From State Education Program
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), expanded its lawsuit challenging the exclusion of certain military veterans from the Texas Hazlewood Act, which provides a waiver of tuition and fees at Texas public colleges and universities. MALDEF represents veterans who have been denied the waiver and attended the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, North Harris College, as well veterans seeking to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio and West Texas A&M University. In the expanded lawsuit, MALDEF represents six veterans and the American GI Forum of Texas.