In August, the US Department of Education (USDOE) rescinded a 2015 Dear Colleague letter that described how state and local education agencies could meet their obligations to serve children who are English learners.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 remains in place and continues to apply to schools’ responsibilities for serving English learners and their families. USDOE also left in place a 2015 guidance document they jointly issued with the US Department of Justice that answers common questions about the rights of parents and guardians who do not speak, listen, read or write English proficiently because it is not their primary language. This document explains that schools are required to:
- Provide information to parents and guardians in a language they can understand. Examples of information include registration and enrollment documents, report cards, student discipline policies and procedures and special education and related services discussions.
- Provide language assistance to parents even if their children are proficient in English and parents are somewhat proficient. Schools should not rely on students to provide translation services for their parents and instead should maintain a list of interpreters who can provide spoken language support to assist families with limited English proficiency.
- Establish processes to determine whether parents are limited English proficient and identify their needs.
More information about Ohio’s standardized procedures for identifying and supporting multilingual students who are English learners is available on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) website. Ohio’s Language Usage Survey can help districts identify student and family language support needs. In addition, ODEW’s website includes templates for parental notifications in many languages. Resources also are available from ODEW’s Advancing Ohio’s English Learners webpage.
OSBA’s division of legal services is available to provide more resources and information about district’s legal requirements related to English learners. The division can be reached at (855) OSBA-LAW or (855) 672-2529. Districts can also reach out to ODEW at (614) 466-4109. For guidance related to specific students or district processes, districts should contact their legal counsel.