The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district has been accused of firing school secretary Ana Ligia Mateo for speaking Spanish to parents of students in her school.

In a particularly brazen act of insensitivity the school principal told Ms. Mateo not to translate in communicating with parents who had come to school to investigate whether someone at the school had sexually assaulted their child.

42 percent of the school’s students are Hispanic and Ms. Mateo was originally hired to be a bilingual secretary.

English only rules like this in our schools only serve to marginalize both parents and students and fail to accommodate our diverse population.

Send a letter to the school district demanding an immediate end to any English-only policies in school. Schools should serve and communicate with all parent and students rather than enforce intolerant and counter-productive language bans.