Key points:
It’s a well-documented fact that children experience better academic achievement and social adjustment when parents are involved in their education, but navigating a school system can be challenging. It’s infinitely more challenging for the 1 in 5 U.S. residents who speak a language other than English at home.
Language barriers make it difficult for parents with limited English proficiency (LEP) to advocate for their children, talk to educators about their child’s progress, and gain access to information about special education services, gifted and talented programs, discipline policies, parent handbooks, and more. Often, the role of ad hoc interpreter falls to the child–everything from information-sharing and school policies to interpreting for their own parent-teacher conference. That’s an adult-sized burden no child should have to bear.
I talk to a lot of parents, both as a parent myself and in my work advocating for language services. What I hear is that while public, magnet, and charter schools are legally required to offer language services, schools simply aren’t using interpreters as much as they should. And that creates the risk that children of LEP families will fall through the cracks.
Language access in schools is a legal right–and a moral imperative
Under federal law, schools must communicate information to LEP parents in a language they can understand about any program, service, or activity that is called to the attention of parents who are proficient in English. Ensuring access to language services benefits not only LEP parents and their children but also their teachers, classmates, and the district overall.
“I think schools very much overestimate how effectively they are communicating,” says Helen Sweeney, a parent of four and certified interpreter. “Each and every time I interpret in an educational setting, I see better outcomes. Even something as simple as explaining the attendance policy or login instructions helps ensure that children do not fall behind.”
Consider processes such as obtaining a 504 plan or an individualized education program (IEP), which removes barriers so that a student with a disability can learn alongside their classmates in general education. Without one, a student may find it harder to learn in certain circumstances. But obtaining an IEP is a complicated process. If a language barrier keeps parents from being able to fully understand their child’s rights and navigate that process, problems can compound, leading to the need for increased spending on additional resources (more counselors, more academic interventions, and more support) down the road.
“America has always been and will continue to be a land of many languages spoken,” Sweeney says. “We must help all children, regardless of the language their family communicates in, to have access to essential information and services now, in order for them to thrive in the future.”
How schools can better speak the languages of their students’ families
You wouldn’t advise administrators to wait until a student who uses a wheelchair enrolls in a school to start building an access ramp. It’s the same with language services–schools and districts need to act now, before a lack of comprehensive language access exposes them to legal risk. A few key steps can help educators make progress in ensuring that they are communicating effectively with all parents:
- Translate all priority communications: In a perfect world, every piece of information that goes home to a student’s family would be translated into the language spoken in that household. That’s not always possible, so ensure that, at the very least, standard materials necessary for student success are translated into the languages your LEP families speak. These documents are usually evergreen and don’t require many changes from year to year, but should encompass anything urgent as well. Common examples include information about registration, graduation requirements, permission slips, school calendars, parent-teacher conferences, standard disciplinary forms, and assessments.
- Make professional interpreters available for every conversation with parents: Make sure that you are leveraging professional interpreters, rather than asking staff with limited bilingual skills to help or relying on minors to relay information between their school and their parents. A language services partner that is shared across schools can handle the variety of language needs throughout the district, including having a qualified interpreter available (whether in person or via phone or video) for every conversation with LEP families.
- Establish, implement, and provide training around a language access plan: A language access plan can help ensure that you’re meeting the letter as well as the spirit of the law in equitably serving all your students and their families–those with non-English language preferences in addition to those fluent in English. Make sure everyone in your school or district understands what language services you offer, how to access them, and when to use them. This will require training (and retraining) staff on your language access policies.
- Advocate for better investment in language access: Currently there’s no funding for or standardization of language access programs in education, and that needs to change. I serve as co-chair of the Advocacy and Standards Committee in the Association of Language Companies (ALC), and we’re working to improve investment in language access programs in education. Add your voice to the increasing number of advocates calling for change.
We must work together to effect change
Students and their families should have equal access to education–no matter what language they speak. Interpreters in schools are a must, and LEP parents shouldn’t have to advocate for something to which they are already legally entitled. It’s time to come together to support all families with the same opportunities and information we provide English-speaking families. These children are our future leaders, and we can’t afford to let language barriers get in the way of their education.
