Language Access and Schools: Federal Requirements and School Experiences

This webinar from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy (NCIIP) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services (BRYCS) program explores federal requirements for providing interpretation and translation in schools and how select school districts in Minnesota and Colorado have managed these requirements. Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools are required to provide information to parents in a “language they can understand.” In addition to this requirement, Executive Order 13166 makes clear the responsibility of all federally funded programs to uphold Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by ensuring meaningful access to programs and services for individuals regardless of their English proficiency. School districts across the country have implemented these federal requirements in a variety of ways. This is part of NCIIP’s language access webinar series exploring the policy and program implementation imperatives for government and community agencies serving Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations.