FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERPRETATION & TRANSLATION: EXPERIENCES OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN MD Laura Gardner (Anne Arundel County Public Schools) Maritza Gonzalez (Prince George’s County Public Schools) Pilar Lepe (Charles County Public Schools) Claudia Easton (Baltimore City Public Schools)

 Title VI – prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance  Agencies are required: to offer interpreters to LEP clients for their services at no cost; to translate vital documents into the most commonly spoken languages of clients; to inform LEP clients of their right to a free interpreter Under Title VI, recipients may not: Ask an individual to bring an interpreter to receive services. Allow an individual to use a minor as an interpreter. Executive Order (2000) Title VI

Memo – “Identification of Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of National Origin” Lau v. Nichols (1974) Equal Educational Opportunities Act (1974) 3 additional policy memos (1985, 1991, & 2015) Non-Discriminatory & Comparable Access to Education

4 The words “interpretation” and “translation” are not used in the civil rights policy memos and case law mentioned, but are indirectly addressed within the context of non- discriminatory and comparable access to education Specific References to Interpretation/Translation

5 These items must be provided “to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand”: Information on: o Academic achievement o School’s Title I plan o Parent involvement programs and policies Annual state and local educational agency report cards Parents’ Right-to-Know Specific References to Interpretation/Translation (Old ESEA/NCLB – Title I)

6 Specific References to Interpretation/Translation (Old ESEA/NCLB – Title III) These items must be provided “to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand”: The reasons the child has been identified as LEP, etc. The child’s level of English proficiency and academic achievement Information about the various program options Information about a parent’s right to decline to enroll their child in such a program

7 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (New ESEA) Some of the items that must be provided “to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand”: Annual state report card Local educational agency report card Info provided to parents about their child’s ELL program In the section on Parent & Family Engagement in Title I: “In carrying out the parent and family engagement requirements of this part…including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand.”

8 Specific References to Interpretation/Translation (IDEA) What must be provided in the native language: IEP team meetings Assessments and other evaluation materials used to assess a child Written notice (or translated orally) that the school proposes to initiate or change the plan for the child Information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought Right to confidentiality

 “Equal Access to Public Services for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency”  The MD statute provides a mandatory timetable for specific state agencies to take “reasonable steps” to provide equal access to LEP individuals.  Under the law, State agencies are required to translate “vital documents” into the language spoken by the LEP population that constitutes 3% of the overall population within the geographic area served by a local office.  Also requires “oral language services” (interpretation) Maryland Law (2002)

State of the Field & Input from the Panel

11 Who is doing the Interpreting? Bilingual staff members (including secretaries and janitors, etc.), teachers, and students (Paone et al, 2010) Hourly/temporary interpreters they hire Interpretation/translation vendors (Ad Astra, etc.) School districts contract with refugee and immigrant serving organizations

 Three contracts  By telephone  On-site at your location  Written document translation  Rates negotiated by Department of Budget and Management for all state agencies  See: contracts/Pages/statewide- contracts/LanguageContractHome.aspxhttp:// contracts/Pages/statewide- contracts/LanguageContractHome.aspx Statewide Language Access Contracts

13 How Do School Personnel Access Interpreters? National Study – over half had no mechanism (Paone et al, 2010) Some districts have centralized departments and teachers submit requests Bilingual staff & home-school liaisons are often used but this requires role clarification

14 What types of situations are interpreters used for? Communication with parents, parent-teacher conferences, parent events, school activities, enrollment, orientation, summer programs, state testing, school documents, counseling, etc. Most of the literature is on their use by school psychologists and some by school counselors Very little literature on the overall need for interpreters for everyday activities

15 Are they Trained? No national standards for school interpreters Paone et al’s (2010) national study – over half of the school counselors surveyed did not know if the interpreters they used had been trained Ochoa et al (2004) found that 26% of school psychologists in their study used an untrained interpreter

16 How are they Funded? Very little in the literature on this General school district funds Some interpretation/translation may be funded by Title III or Title I, but must follow “supplement vs. supplant” Refer to this DOE Webinar from April 2011 on “Translation and Interpretation for English Learners” for more information: tleiparta/titleititleiii421.pdf tleiparta/titleititleiii421.pdf

 How does your district handle district-wide translations? School-based ones? Translations (written)

18 Challenges to Providing Interpretation/Translation Services in the School Setting Lack of funding, no advocacy for hiring interpreters, and key people don’t believe interpreters are needed (Paone et al, 2010) Lack of awareness of federal requirements Diversity of languages No connection with immigrant serving agencies Limited published literature or documented best practices in the school setting

19 References / Resources Maryland Language Access Toolkit. Maryland Language Access Task Force. Contact Veronique Felix Colomer, S.E. & Harklau, L. (2009). Spanish Teachers as Impromptu Translators and Liaisons in New Latino Communities. Foreign Language Annals, 42(4), Ochoa, S.H., Riccio, C., Jimenez, S., Garcia de Alba, R., & Sines, M. (2004). Psychological Assessment of English Language Learners and/or Bilingual Students: An Investigation of School Psychologists’ Current Practices. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 22, Paone, T.R., Malott, K.M., & Maddux, C. (2010). School Counselor Collaboration with Language Interpreters: Results of a National Survey. Journal of School Counseling, 8 (13).