Title VI New Hampshire Department of Transportation Workshop November 13, 2013 Presented by Robbie Sarles, President, RLS & Associates, Inc.

Objectives ♦ Overview of civil rights legislation requirements for transit ♦ Enable agencies to develop appropriate Title VI plans and assess compliance including: ○ Development of public participation plans ○ Development of Language Assistance Plans ○ Methods to Prevent Civil Rights Violations

Civil Rights Related Requirements for Transit ♦ Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ♦ Providing Language Access to Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) – Executive Order ♦ Environmental Justice – Executive Order 12898

FTA’s Title VI Circular ♦ Distinguishes between Title VI and Environmental Justice by creating two circulars ○ Title VI Requirements and Guidance for Federal Transit Administration Recipients, FTA C B ○ Environmental Justice Policy Guidance for Federal Transit Administration Recipients, FTA C ♦ Considered equally important

Title VI ♦ Applies to all FTA recipients and sub- recipients ○ “No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” ○ 42 U.S.C., Section 2000d

♦ Anyone intended to be the beneficiary of, applicant for, or participant in a Federally assisted program ♦ Applies to all persons (not just citizens) ○ All races ○ All shades of color ○ National origin Title VI Protects:

♦ Recipient ○ State DOT ○ Transit Agency ○ Any Public or Private agency receiving FTA Funding ♦ Subrecipient ○ Pass through recipient of FTA Financial Assistance Applicability

♦ Later statutes extended the scope of Title VI to include prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of income, age, sex, and disability Extended Prohibitions

♦ Prohibits disparate impact discrimination ○ Practice that lacks a substantial legitimate justification ○ There are other comparable alternatives that would result in less disparate impact ○ The justification is a pretext for discrimination ♦ Prohibits disparate treatment discrimination ○ Intentional discrimination DOT and DOJ Regulation

DOT Title VI Regulations ♦ Recipients may not: ○ Deny any protected individual service, financial aid, or benefit under the program ○ Provide any service, financial aid, or benefit that is different for protected individuals from that provided to others ○ Subject a protected individual to segregation or separate treatment

DOT Title VI Regulations ♦ Recipients may not: (continued) ○ Restrict a protected individual in the employment of any advantage or privilege enjoyed by others ○ Treat protected individuals differently in terms of whether they satisfy admission, eligibility, or membership requirements ○ Deny a protected individual the opportunity to participate in the provision of services

♦ Recipients may not: (continued) ○ Deny a protected individual the opportunity to participate as a member of a planning or advisory body ○ Use criteria or methods of administration that have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination DOT Title VI Regulations

♦ Recipients may not: (continued) ○ Make decisions in regard to facility location with the purpose or effect of subjecting persons to discrimination ○ Discriminate with regard to the routing, scheduling, or quality of transit service

DOT Title VI Regulations ♦ Recipients may not: (continued) ○ Use race, color, or national origin as a basis for determining frequency of service, age and quality of vehicles assigned to routes, quality of stations serving different routes, and location of routes

♦ Recipients MUST : ○ Take affirmative action to assure non- discrimination DOT Title VI Regulations

Eight Required Actions ♦ There are 8 required actions by all transit providers (small and large, demand responsive and fixed route):  Develop Title VI complaint procedures  Record Title VI investigations, complaints, and lawsuits  Provide meaningful access to persons with Limited English Proficiency

Eight Required Actions  Notify beneficiaries of Title VI protections  Provide additional compliance information upon request  Prepare and submit a Title VI program  Analyze impact of construction projects  Promote inclusive public participation

Eight Required Actions 1.Develop Title VI complaint procedures ○ Develop method for filing complaints ○ Timeframe for accepting complaint ○ Investigation and resolution timeframe ○ Who investigates the complaint ○ Who resolves the complaint ○ Develop method for investigating and tracking complaints

Eight Required Actions 2.Record Title VI investigations, complaints, and lawsuits ○ Maintain a list of active investigations conducted by entities other than FTA, lawsuits or complaints alleging discrimination  Date filed  Summary of allegation  Current status  Actions taken in response

Eight Required Actions 3.Provide meaningful access to persons with Limited English Proficiency – benefits, services, information, and other important portions of their programs ○ Develop an LEP Plan or equivalent

4.Notify beneficiaries of Title VI protections ○ Disseminate information to public  Statement that agency operates programs without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, income, or disability (should be included in all printed materials regarding service)  Procedures for requesting additional information on non-discrimination obligations  Complaint procedures Eight Required Actions

4.Notify beneficiaries of Title VI protections (Continued) ○ Use variety of dissemination methods ○ General notification ○ Document translation ○ See example Eight Required Actions

5.Provide additional compliance information upon request ○ In response to a complaint investigation ○ To resolve concerns about possible non- compliance 6.Prepare and submit a Title VI program ○ Report certain general information as part of grant application Eight Required Actions

7.Analyze impact of construction projects ○ National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ○ Categorical exclusion ○ DOT will work with each system to determine when a NEPA analysis is required Eight Required Actions

8.Promote inclusive public participation ○ Conduct public outreach and involvement activities with minority and low-income individuals ○ Agency determines most appropriate approach  Should seek out and consider the viewpoints of minority, low-income, and LEP populations when conducting public outreach and involvement activities  Early and continuous opportunity for input Eight Required Actions

Guidance for Transit Agencies ♦ Certify your compliance ♦ Document Title VI complaints/lawsuits ♦ Inform public of your Title VI policy and complaint process ○ Post complaint process in public locations and public documents ○ Provide direction of where complaint process can be found

Guidance for Transit Agencies ♦ Document procedures for informing protected populations of upcoming service changes ♦ Provide a racial breakdown of non-elected boards, advisory councils, and committees ○ Encourage participation of protected populations’ representatives

Guidance for Transit Agencies ♦ Typical Title VI deficiencies found during NTD triennial reviews:  Lacking assessment or provisions for LEP persons  Title VI public notification deficiencies  Program not submitted in a timely manner  Impact of all fare changes and/or major service changes not adequately examined (for large fixed route systems)

Potential Title VI Issues ♦ Unintentional exclusion of groups from the decision process ♦ Failure to consider impacts of alternatives and programs on groups ♦ Unintentional discrimination ♦ Intentional discrimination

Definition of Discrimination ♦ Per the Title VI regulations, “discrimination refers to any action or inaction, whether intentional or unintentional, in any program or activity of a Federal aid recipient, subrecipient, or contractor that results in disparate treatment, disparate impact, or perpetuating the effects of prior discrimination based on race, color, or national origin”.

Making Sure There Is No Discrimination ♦ Have others review the current service/fares or any proposed changes ♦ Public Input Is Useful to Make Sure You Have Not Overlooked Civil Rights and Equity Issues ♦ A Quantitative Equity Analysis Is a Way to Allow the Numbers to Speak for Your Proposed Changes

What is Public Participation ♦ “ Public participation in the transportation field is the process through which transportation agencies inform and engage people in the transportation decision-making process. The goals of public involvement are to provide information to the public and obtain feedback on analysis, recommendations, or decisions.” ~ Public Participation Strategies for Transit; Transportation Research Board; TCRP Synthesis #89; 2011

Public Participation ♦ Effective public participation is: ○ Functional for planning  Helps create better decisions ○ Meaningful to the public  Provides opportunity to influence decisions  Promotes a sense of ownership in the transit system

Public Participation Plan ♦ Effective Public Participation Plans should: ○ Link public participation to planning ○ Recognize the intended public audience ○ Define the transit system’s intentions for public participation

Public Participation Plan Public Participation Plans must: Comply with Title VI and EJ Regulations Be inclusive Be appropriate for service and service area Be practical Be do-able Be documentable

Public Participation Plan ♦ Developing and implementing a good Public Participation Plan can be difficult. And, it is made more difficult when trying to engage traditionally hard to reach populations such as people with limited English language proficiency and low-income and minority communities

Public Participation Plan ♦ The four cornerstones of the Public Participation Plan are: ○ Purpose ○ People ○ Methods ○ Evaluation

Purpose ♦ What the public is involved to do and when ♦ The Plan’s Purpose should: ○ List planning tasks to create a transit plan ○ Establish which tasks require or benefit from public involvement ○ Evaluate when planning tasks must be achieved and when the public must be involved

People ♦ Identifies those who are involved in community transit planning ♦ This Cornerstone should: ○ Describe the public that will be involved in the process ○ Describe the transit officials and local officials that will be involved in the process

Methods ♦ Identifies the specific methods for involving the public to achieve the tasks ♦ Methods are to: ○ Increase the public’s awareness of planning participation activities

Evaluation ♦ Documentation and evaluation of public participation ♦ In the Evaluation portion you will: ○ Outline and establish procedures for documenting public participation and a protocol for evaluating public participation activities and results

Public Participation Incorporate Title VI requirements into policies and procedures 1. Scheduling policies 2. Fare polices 3. Eligibility policies 4. Service area policies

Public Participation Encourage and seek participation from those directly impacted 1. Who is impacted? 2. Where do I find those who are impacted? 3. How do I find the most appropriate meeting location and time?

Public Participation Contact minority community leaders, organizations, media, and safety and enforcement agencies 1. Churches 2. Civic Groups 3. Homeless Shelters

Public Participation Conduct community/public meetings 1. Where should meetings be held? 2. Who should be invited to the meetings? 3. How should I promote and advertise meetings to encourage attendance?

♦ FTA Recipients must take responsible steps to ensure meaningful access to the benefits, services, information, and other important portions of their programs and activities for individuals who are LEP Limited English Proficiency – Title VI Requirements

Provide Meaningful Access to Persons with LEP and Low Literacy ♦ Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) ○ Persons who do not speak English as their primary language ○ Persons who have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English

Provide Meaningful Access to Persons with LEP and Low Literacy ♦ Households with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) ○ No one over age 14 speaks English well, and is linguistically isolated

LEP Population in the U.S. ♦ More than 25 million do not speak English at all or well ♦ Increased by 80% from 1990 to 2010 Low Literacy

LEP Executive Order ♦ Each Federal agency shall examine the services it provides and develop and implement a system by which LEP persons can meaningfully access those services

DOT LEP Guidance ♦ Two methods ○ Agencies serving significant populations of LEP persons  Develop a language implementation plan ○ Agencies serving small populations of LEP persons  Implement procedures to reasonably provide meaningful access

Significant LEP Population – Develop a Language Implementation Plan ♦ FTA publication ○ “Implementing the Department of Transportation’s Policy Guidance Concerning Recipients’ Responsibilities to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Persons: A Handbook for Public Transportation Providers”

Four Factors Included in Plan 1.Identify number or proportion of LEP persons eligible or likely to be served ○ Compare service area with geographic distribution of LEP persons City of Bloomington Total Population76,730 Language Total Population Speak English "Less than very well" Percentage of LEP population Percentage of Total Population Chinese 2,5781, %2.00% Korean 1, %0.81% Spanish or Spanish Creole 1, %0.79% Other Asian Languages %0.31% Arabic %0.21% Japanese %0.17% Hindi %0.15% Vietnamese %0.09% Hebrew %0.08% French %0.08% Thai %0.07% German %0.07% Other Pacific Island Languages %0.05% Gujarati %0.04% Laotian %0.02% Portuguese or Portuguese Creole %0.02% Persian %0.02% Other Indic Languages %0.02% Polish %0.02% Serbo-Croatian %0.01% Tagalog %0.01% Navajo %0.01% African Languages %0.01% Hungarian %0.01% Italian %0.01% Greek %0 Other and Unspecified Languages 180 0%0 Other Indo-European Languages %0 Scandinavian 200 0%0 Russian %0 Other Western Languages 330 0%0 Urdu 390 0%0 Other Slavic Languages 790 0%0 Totals

Four Factors Included in Plan 2.Determine frequency with which LEP persons come into contact with the service ○ Track number of calls or service requests made by LEP persons ○ Track number of requests for a translator or travel trainer ○ Track number of LEP persons that attended public meetings or outreach activities

Four Factors Included in Plan ♦ Surveys ○ Staff; to determine frequency with which LEP riders come into contact with transit service ○ LEP Community Partners; to determine needs of LEP community and gaps in service usage due to language differences ○ Riders; to determine language barriers to accessing additional transit services

3.Define the nature and importance of the program, activity, or service provided to LEP persons ○ System’s mission statement ○ Provide a trip purpose summary ○ List major trip generators Four Factors Included in Plan

3. Define the nature and importance of the program, activity, or service provided to LEP persons (continued) ○ Type of Information  Fares/Tickets  Route and Schedules  Safety/Security/Evacuation

4.Identify resources and costs associated with providing meaningful access to LEP persons ○ Identify others in community that address the needs of LEP persons ○ Identify resources available in local community  Resources that can provide oral and written translation Four Factors Included in Plan

♦ Safe Harbor ○ 5% or 1,000 individuals ○ Applies to written translation of vital documents for each group ○ Migrant and seasonal workers ○ If you are a transit system claiming Safe Harbor you MUST support the claim with factual documentation Safe Harbor and LEP Thresholds

New Title VI Circular ♦ All FTA Recipients must submit to FTA: ○ Title VI Notice to the Public ○ Complaint Procedures ○ Complaint Form ○ Limited English Proficiency Plan & Public Involvement Plan ○ List of investigations, lawsuits, and complaints

New Title VI Circular ♦ All FTA recipients must submit…(continued): ○ Information regarding siting of fixed facilities (not construction projects) ○ Table depicting racial composition of membership of non-elected bodies ♦ All transit providers regardless of size must adopt service standards and policies

New Title VI Circular ♦ Includes templates and checklist for information submitted to FTA ♦ Flow charts of responsibilities ♦ Updated Title VI plans due dates: ○ Plans that expired prior to October 1, 2012 were due to FTA prior to October 1, 2012 (compliant with Circular A) ○ Plans that expire after October 1, 2012 must submit a plan compliant with B by April 1, 2013

♦ All fixed route providers must develop the following systemwide service standards and policies, showing how service is distributed across the fixed route system: o vehicle load, headway, on-time performance, service availability, vehicle assignment, distribution of amenities  This is not required (but is good practice) for demand responsive service and ADA paratransit service All Providers of Fixed Route Service

Headways and Loads

Large Fixed Route Systems ♦ A large fixed route system occurs in urban areas over 200,000 population and operate at least 50 peak vehicles

Large Fixed Route Systems ♦ All large fixed route systems must:  prepare a demographic analysis of its fixed route service with maps and overlays showing the distribution of service to protected populations (minority and low- income)  prepare an analysis its fixed route customer demographics and travel patterns, with special reference to minority and low-income riders

Large Fixed Route Systems ♦ All large fixed route systems must (contd):  prepare an equity analysis of proposed significant service changes and any fare change, with special reference to minority and low- income populations  monitor (every 3 years) its service and compare it to the service standards and policies, and report any actions taken as a result

Title VI Complaints ♦ Transit systems all have complaint procedures. Those should be followed for all aspects of the service, including Title VI compliance.

Board Approval ♦ Certain elements within the Title VI Program must have your Board approval:  Service standards (for all Transit Providers)  Major service change policy, disparate impact policy and disproportionate burden policy  Results of any service and fare equity analyses  Results of service monitoring

Creating Your Title VI Policy

Step 1 ♦ Replace All “ABC” with Your Transit System Name

Section II. General Requirements (page 2) ♦ Replace the information in brackets with your system’s information or insert the Title VI statement that is published on your informational materials and website

Discrimination Complaint Procedures (page 2) ♦ Paste a copy of your transit system’s Complaint Form where indicated:

Active Lawsuits, Complaints or Inquiries (page 3) ♦ Add data reflecting active lawsuits, complaints or inquiries alleging discrimination

III. Public Participation Plan ♦ Objectives of the Public Participation Plan ○ Systems should edit the second list of bullet points to match actual practice. ○ The service standards/thresholds are to be established by the system but must be considered ‘reasonable’ by the FTA. ○ Public participation is required with all fare changes and major service changes.

III. Public Participation Plan ♦ Regional Partnership/Capital Programming ○ This section should be updated for systems where it is applicable. If it is not applicable, delete this section from your plan

IV. Public Participation Process ♦ Edit the Outreach Efforts list to reflect the actual process that your system uses (or will use) to alert riders and encourage them to engage

IV. Public Participation Process ♦ Selection of Meeting Locations ○ Edit the bullet list to reflect your system’s processes for selecting meeting locations and providing opportunity for public participation

IV. Public Participation Process ♦ Mediums ○ Edit the bullet list to reflect your system’s mediums used to provide information to the public ○ (optional) If you have.jpg files of your flyers, notices, or webpages, insert pictures of them here

IV. Public Participation Process ♦ Addressing Comments ○ Insert your systems approach to incorporating public comments into decisions.  How do you receive comments and share them with your Board?

IV. Public Participation Process ♦ Identification of Stakeholders ○ Insert a list and of your system’s local stakeholders and/or community partners

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Service Area Overview ○ Refer to the demographic files saved on your flash drive and insert the appropriate data in the blanks provided ○ Refer to the “Language Table” on the flash drive and insert the appropriate information into the table provided

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ The Locations of the LEP Community ○ Copy and paste the Map Exhibit A from the flash drive into the plan in the space provided.

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Factor 2 – Frequency of LEP Use ○ Review the Employee Survey draft that is provided on the flash drive. Edit the survey as needed to suit your system ○ After the Survey is distributed and collected, record results in the tables provided

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Community Partners ○ Insert a list of your community partners and stakeholders ○ Canvass by your community partners using the four questions provided in the template plan ○ Collect the data and include a short summary of the results in the plan

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Consulting Directly with the LEP Population ○ Review the draft survey provided on your flash drive. ○ Edit the survey to suit your system ○ Distribute survey to passengers ○ Summarize survey results in the plan

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Factor 3 – The Importance of ABC Service to People’s Lives ○ Insert rider survey data regarding trip purpose ○ If available, copy and paste a copy of system information signs that are provided in a language other than English

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Factor 4 – Resources and Costs for LEP Outreach ○ Edit the list provided to suit your transit system’s practices

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Outcomes ○ Edit the section to suit your transit system’s practices ♦ Oversight ○ Edit the section to reflect actual practices ♦ Training Employees ○ Add training activities pertaining to LEP services

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Translation of Vital Documents ○ Insert the list of documents and resources that will be translated in print. ○ Be sure to consider the cost of translating these items and the value to the LEP community compared to the transit system’s budget.

V. Language Assistance Plan ♦ Decision Making Bodies ○ Recipients that have transit-related, non-elected planning boards, advisory councils or committees, or similar bodies, the membership of which is selected by the recipient, must provide a table depicting the membership of those committees broken down by race, and a description of efforts made to encourage the participation of minorities on such committees.

VI. Service Standards and Policies ♦ FTA requires all fixed route transit providers of public transportation to develop quantitative standards for specific indicators ♦ Individual providers will set these standards

VI. Service Standards and Policies ♦ Vehicle Load ♦ Headways ♦ On-Time Performance ♦ Service Availability ♦ Vehicle Assignment Policy ♦ Transit Amenity Policy

VI. Service Standards and Policies ♦ Vehicle load for each mode: Generally expressed as the ratio of passengers to the number of seats on a vehicle, relative to the vehicle’s maximum load point. For example, on a 40-seat bus, a vehicle load of 1.3 means all seats are filled and there are approximately 12 standees. Transit providers can specify vehicle loads for peak vs. off-peak times, and for different modes of transit.

VI. Service Standards and Policies ♦ Vehicle headways for each mode: The amount of time between two vehicles traveling in the same direction on a given line or combination of lines.

VI. Service Standards and Policies ♦ On-time performance for each mode: A measure of runs completed as scheduled

VI. Service Standards and Policies ♦ Service availability for each mode: A general measure of the distribution of routes within an agency’s service area.

VI. Service Standards and Policies ♦ Monitoring Service Standards ○ FTA requires that all providers of fixed route public transportation develop qualitative policies for the following procedures. These policies are to be set by individual transit providers; therefore, these policies will apply to individual agencies rather than across the entire transit industry.

VII. Summary of Changes ♦ Complete as appropriate for your system

VIII. Grants, Reviews and Certifications ♦ Complete as appropriate for your system

Board Approval ♦ Upon completion of all updates, the policy must be approved by your Board of Directors

Thank You!