This course will include specific local, state, and federal laws governing ESL programs and services that will be discussed in detail. The impact, application of the laws, and strategies for complying with them in the K-12 setting are major areas of focus. Students will explore the various ways in which issues of language intersect with issues of the law. We will study, through the analysis of specific pieces of legislation and specific court cases, how issues related to the ELL students are answered. The course will also focus on the ways in which legislation, policy and jurisprudence affect minority language cultures in the US schools.