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Bilingual Education, a work in progress—Today on Congressional Moment. By the time the 13 British colonies declared their independence, over two million people had immigrated across the ocean from Europe. Many were British, but many more were from other countries, and spoke other languages. It was not long before bilingual education became an issue. By the mid 1800s, various states were conducting classes in languages such as French, German, Dutch and Greek.
今日國會時刻——雙語教育，仍在發展的事業。到英國13個殖民地宣布獨立時，已有超過200萬人穿越海洋從歐洲移民。很多人來自英國，但更多人來自其他國家，他們講其他語言。不久之后雙語教育便應運而生。到19世紀中期，各州均開設了用法語，德語，荷蘭語以及希臘語講授的課程。
Non English-speaking students received some protection under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, ratified in 1868, and over a hundred years later, in 1968, the Bilingual Education Act was created. It was the first official federal legislation recognizing the specific needs of students with limited English-speaking ability.
第十四條修正案的平等保護條款于1868年批準生效，這為母語為非英語的學生提供了更多保護，且在100后的1968年，國會通過了《雙語教育法》。這條法案以聯邦法律形式成立，它的重要意義在于認識到英語能力差的學生的特殊需求。
It gave assistance to many local districts to establish bilingual education programs. During the 1980s and 90s, Congress amended the Act several times, reflecting new challenges, changing priorities and new teaching techniques.
這條法律協助了各地機構建立雙語教育項目。在20世紀80年代至90年代，國會屢次修改這條法案，修改內容反應了新的挑戰，不斷變化的優先事項以及新式教學技巧。
The issue was, and still is, hotly debated at the grass roots level, with children coming to our schools speaking more than 200 languages. Congress continues to wrestle with the important issue of how best to help students from non-English speaking families move into the mainstream of American life. The Bilingual Education Act is clearly a work-in-progress, and related issues are likely to be found in the media and on the ballots for many years to come.
進入美國學校讀書的學生所說的語言超過200種，這個問題曾是并仍然是民間熱議的話題。如何幫助來自非英語家庭的學生融入進美國主流生活，國會將繼續設法解決這一問題。顯然，雙語教育仍是有待發展事業。未來許多年內媒體，競選宣傳仍會持續報道、提及相關問題。
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