United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974)

Lau v. Nichols

No. 72-6520

Argued December 10, 1973

Decided January 21, 1974

414 U.S. 563

Syllabus

The failure of the San Francisco school system to provide English language instruction to approximately 1,800 students of Chinese ancestry who do not speak English, or to provide them with other adequate instructional procedures, denies them a meaningful opportunity to participate in the public educational program, and thus violates § 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination based "on the ground of race, color, or national origin," in "any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance," and the implementing regulations of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Pp. 414 U. S. 565-569.

483 F.2d 791, reversed and remanded.

DOUGLAS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BRENNAN, MARSHALL, POWELL, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined. STEWART, J., filed an opinion concurring in the result, in which BURGER, C.J., and BLACKMUN, J., joined, post, p. 414 U. S. 569. WHITE, J., concurred in the result. BLACKMUN, J., filed an opinion concurring in the result, in which BURGER, C.J., joined, post, p. 414 U. S. 571.

Page 414 U. S. 564