Dignity in Public Schools for Parents with the Language Barrier

Help make the public school system more accessible to parents with language barriers

Dear Representative

I think that the practice of denying parents with the language barrier (referred to hereafter as parents with LEP) a written translation of both the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and the Evaluation Results (E.R.) is unfair and threatens both the parents’ as well as their children’s civil rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (2004), the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and even under at least one Section of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). IRCA forbids discrimination based on national origin, and because language is a proxy for national origin, it can be argued that many school districts discriminate against parents with LEPs on the basis of their national origin.

I have met with administrators of the Office of Special Education in the Philadelphia School District in PA (referred to hereafter as PSD) in the past three years, and maintained regular e-mail communications with them about concerns germane to the language barrier. PSD has held the position that there are too many hurdles and challenges in the way which thwart the viability of such translations. Paradoxically, PSD is mandated under Title I of the NCLB Act to allow parents to have meaningful and genuine inclusion in the creation, implementation, and revision of School-wide Plans, Parent Involvement Policies, Parent-School Compacts, and School Action (Improvement) Plans.

The language barrier in and of itself poses the biggest threat to the civil rights of parents with LEP and their children, and school districts nationwide, more than any other public service system serving children and/or their families, should be fully aware of how exclusionary the language barrier can be. Many school personnel in general act as if they are addressing the language barrier appropriately, but nothing is farther from the truth according to my own experience.

We (local Hispanic leaders) are aware that a few public schools in PSD help make the necessary arrangements to help parents who have requested a translation of the child's IEP obtain a copy of the referenced written documents, but the majority of the schools not only deny the request, they leave no tracks behind them reflecting that the parent ever made the request. Public/Charter Schools are mandated under federal and state laws on disabilities to "reply" to parent's requests in writing through, in cases of special education, a form called the NOREP (Notice of Recommended Educational Placement).

Many advocates go to schools with parents to help advocate for better school services for the children and better translation services for parents with LEP, but the schools are slow to engage in reform efforts that is inclusive of parents with LEP. Addressing these concerns on a case by case basis is no longer an option, as the problem arises as a result of twisted interpretations of the education laws as well as staunch resistance by teachers and principals unions to these types of school reforms. We need your help in ensuring that our President, our representatives, our senators, and our local school districts make whatever is necessary to create a friendlier, more embracing and inclusionary environment in schools for parents with LEP.

None of the school district’s explanations to justifying denial of written translation make any sense in light of the new legal requirements of both IDEA 2004 and NCLB 2002. Translations, other than the procedural safeguards, the NOREP, the Prior Written Notice, and many other documents, are provided only verbally in the school district. Even so, there is something terribly wrong with the translators of PSD:
PSD does not provide training to their translators; PSD pulls them, in most cases, from the cracks and crannies of PSD through a whoever-is-available-on the-spot public policy on translators. This practice insults the collective intelligence of parents with LEP across the racial/ethnic communities whose mother language is not English, as PSD's corps of translators is drawn out chiefly from low ranking, poorly paid, uncertified, untrained school personnel from the pool of schools bus aids, teacher aids, driver aids, school security and school maintenance personnel (there are few exceptions to this pattern.) The translator is not required to master reading and writing and vocabulary in both languages; they are not required to attend professional development trainings to develop competence in translations, as mandated; they are not tested for mastery of both languages; they are not familiar with the complex concepts, terminology and processes of regular education and/or special education and related services. As long as this person says that he/she is bilingual or the school districts has identified the school staff as such, that’s all that matters to the schools' administrators when determining and assigning translation tasks to school personnel.

This sounds awful as it is, but there's an even greater concern associated with the practice of making use of ad hoc translators who dabble in two languages for: they often compromise the parent's as a well as the child's private information, as some of these folks often share their experiences at the school meetings openly with other school staff or with parents along the schools' hallways. This happens because the ad hoc translators are not required to sign off on confidentiality agreements as part of the meetings they attend as translators. Whether the school worker can compromise the child’s or the parent’s private information shared at the meetings is not of concern to anyone in the school district. PSD, to our knowledge, does not contract translation services with a professional translation provider, which in most cases can be paid for by the child’s public health coverage.

To what extent PSD's unclear and unfair public policy on translation services for parents with LEP reflect a national trend across tens of thousands of public and charter schools in the nation is a question begging to be answered. This is the reason why we need you on board o this petition. We need to find out if this is a national problem in order to eradicate it at the federal level first. Hence, we are asking for a revision on the language provisos of the public and special education laws which countless schools in Philadelphia adhere to in order to avoid addressing proactively and effectively the language barrier concerns affecting parents with LEP.

PSD appears to think that the practice of using school staff who are clearly not qualified for translation purposes is compliant with federal and state laws on students with disabilities, but I feel strongly that PSD distorts the original purpose and intent of the law and does a disservice to parents with LEP with these translation practices. Translation services are a serious business and we cannot allow the school districts of our nation to ad lib the process. These seeming distortions in public policies in school districts have the potential for seriously causing irreversible damage to the self-worth and self-dignity of parents with LEP. This is often all it takes for parents to not want to actively participate in the public education of their children.

Affected parents may or may not be fully aware in most cases that the translation services being provided by their school are posing serious threats to their children's as well as their own private information and thereby to their civil rights. By not knowing their special/civil rights, clueless parents with LEP tacitly consent to these violations. You can help us turn the tables. Please help us by supporting changes in education laws that takes into account and dignifies parents with LEP and make possible quality and fair public education for their children.

IDEA 2004, Section 612(a)(14) requires that qualifications for Related Services personnel and paraprofessionals are consistent with any State-approved or State-recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable requirements that apply to the professional discipline in which those personnel are providing special education or related services. I suspect that PSD does not regard the translator at the special education meeting as a paraprofessional and this may be the reason why PSD has such low expectations on them, in total detriment of the parent’s and the child’s educational rights and quality of education.

The requirements on personnel qualifications are aligned with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB); however, PSD has not taken time to implement these requirements in the case of parents with LEP, choosing instead to perpetuate public policies that are based on traditions which stubbornly refuse to yield to the winds of reform and/or do little to really include parents with LEP in the school reforms efforts.

The IDEA also states that, “The opportunity for full participation by minority individuals, minority organizations, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in awards for grants and contracts, boards of organizations receiving assistance under the title, peer review panels, and training of professionals in the area of special education is essential to obtain greater success in the education of minority children with disabilities. My opinion is that the school district does not quite understand the importance of providing these opportunities factually.

We would like to make school districts across the nation aware that parents with LEP reject questionable translation practices in the schools. Parents who, owing to the language barrier, do not know how to get fully involved in their child’s school’s reform efforts, or who do are not fully aware of the reforming efforts mandated by the U.S. Congress over the last few years, make it easier for their children to fall short academically, drop out of school earlier, or fail to achieve graduation from high school in four years after entering 9th grade. We are convinced that by excluding parents with LEP from the school process in such subtle ways as occur when translation services are cut short, the schools turn themselves into contributing factors to the high dropout crisis affecting many children in the public school system, particularly Hispanic children.

Parents with LEP want more appropriate and effective translation services in public schools. Those who have children with disabilities also want written, translated versions of their children’s IEPs and E.R.s. It is my understanding that this is the only way the school districts would be in full compliance with the federal requirements on parental involvement when the provisions apply to parents with LEP. It is also my understanding that in cases involving the need for translators, the only way to provide the best services to parents with LEP is by matching the parents with professionally trained, certified translators who are not only highly qualified in both languages but also highly trained in the terminology and frameworks of public education (regular and special education). Parents with LEP deserve better.

Please help us advance the school reform efforts currently underway across the nation. We need more encompassing, more thorough legislation that "really" addresses the language needs of parents with LEP. Support our cause. Help make federal legislation that recognizes the civil rights of parents with LEP.

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