logo image
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • Design Thinking – February 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs
MENU
  • News
    • People Moves
    • Deal Wins
    • Demand Drivers
    • M&A and Funding
    • Financial Results
    • Technology
    • Academia
    • Industry News
    • Features
    • Machine Translation
    • — Divider —
    • Slator Pro
    • — Divider —
    • Press Releases
    • Sponsored Content
  • Data & Research
    • Research Reports & Pro Guides
    • Language Industry Investor Map
    • Real-Time Charts of Listed LSPs
    • Language Service Provider Index
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • Events
    • Design Thinking – February 2021
    • — Divider —
    • SlatorCon Coverage
    • Other Events
  • Directory
  • RFP Center
  • Jobs

Advertise on Slator! Download the 2021 Online Media Kit Now

  • Slator Market Intelligence
  • Slator Advertising Services
  • Slator Advisory
  • Login
Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Advertisement
Atlanta Schools Ban Students, Siblings, Friends from Translating and Interpreting for Parents

1 year ago

September 4, 2019

Atlanta Schools Ban Students, Siblings, Friends from Translating and Interpreting for Parents

Demand Drivers ·

by Marion Marking

On September 4, 2019

1 year ago
Demand Drivers ·

by Marion Marking

On September 4, 2019

Atlanta Schools Ban Students, Siblings, Friends from Translating and Interpreting for Parents

While other parts of the US public sector have shown signs of dialing down on providing free language access, at least one State Board of Education has unanimously approved a policy to provide “high-quality communication support services” free of charge to families of students who speak a language at home other than English.

The Atlanta Board of Education in a newly approved Board Policy on Language Access basically directed all Atlanta Public Schools to provide high-quality language services to target families “so that those communications are equal to the communications provided in English.”

The policy document dated August 5, 2019, further stated that such language services must be made “available free of charge to all district parents, staff and students.”

Advertisement

According to an August 27, 2019 article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), roughly 3,640 students or “about 7% of the district’s 52,000 students live in a home where the language spoken is not English.” The most common language spoken in those homes is Spanish, followed by Chinese, French, Arabic, and Portuguese, the same report said.

Slator 2020 Language Industry Market Report

Data and Research, Slator reports
55 pages. Total market size, biz dev and sales insights, TMS & MT review, buyer segment analysis, M&A, Covid impact & outlook.
$480 BUY NOW

Prior to the approval of the new policy, Atlanta Public Schools had already increased their 2019 language services budget by USD 191,203 “to hire additional full-time staff members and pay for more assistance for families who don’t speak English,” the AJC reported back in July.

Minimum Translation Requirements

The new policy requires Atlanta Public Schools to, “at a minimum,” provide written translation of “critical district documents (paper and online), in the top 5 languages of the district,” just as they do for English-speaking parents.

Additionally, translation of school-based documents (excluding classroom-level newsletters, syllabi, etc.) must be provided “from and to English, in Spanish and in any other language deemed appropriate by the school.”

Where providing written translations is not practical, “documents will be orally translated” for parents with limited English proficiency (LEP), and parents can respond in either English or their own language.

Credentialed Interpreters

The Atlanta Board of Education also directed the state’s public schools to use only interpreters who are “approved by and meet all credential and training requirements established by the Office of ESOL & World Languages.” (The office is an arm of the Atlanta Public Schools system that provides “opportunities for cultural and linguistic enrichment” and “envisions a future of biliteracy in which all students will develop and maintain proficiency in at least two languages.”)

The new policy goes as far as requiring that any interpreter used by the school should be “a neutral party” and “not omit or editorialize on the content of the conversation they are translating.”

Slator RFP Service - Request for Proposal

RFP Center

Business Development, Market Intelligence
Receive daily email alerts of tenders and RFPs issued by governments, NGOs and private entities from across the world.
BUY NOW

Where necessary, schools are required to provide interpretation services for meetings of the Atlanta Board of Education, parent conferences, student disciplinary hearings, among other activities.

Finally, according to the new policy, “Schools may not rely on or ask students, siblings, friends or untrained school staff to translate or interpret for parents.”The Office of ESOL & World Languages responded to over 3,600 online requests for translation and interpretation from June 2018 to May 2019, according to the AJC.

TAGS

AtlantaAtlanta Board of EducationAtlanta Public SchoolsESOLESOL World LanguagesLEPlimited English proficiencyOffice of ESOL & World Languagespublic sector procurementregulatoryUS public sector
SHARE
Marion Marking

By Marion Marking

Slator consultant and corporate communications professional who enjoys exploring Asian cities.

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SLATOR WEEKLY

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

SUBSCRIBE

SlatorSweepSlatorPro
ResearchRFP CENTER

PUBLISH

PRESS RELEASEDIRECTORY LISTING
JOB ADEVENT LISTING

Bespoke advisory including speaking, briefings and M&A

SLATOR ADVISORY
Advertisement

Featured Reports

See all
Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

Slator 2020 Language Industry M&A and Funding Report

by Slator

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

Slator 2021 Data-for-AI Market Report

by Slator

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

Slator 2020 Medtech Translation and Localization Report

by Slator

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

Pro Guide: Sales and Marketing for Language Service Providers

by Slator

Press Releases

See all
Seamless Transitions and the Latest AI-Powered Technologies – Tilde’s Success Story

Seamless Transitions and the Latest AI-Powered Technologies – Tilde’s Success Story

by XTRF

Live Stream Smartling’s Global Ready Conference on April 14, 2021

Live Stream Smartling’s Global Ready Conference on April 14, 2021

by Smartling

Rheinschrift Language Services – Strategic Improvements and Workforce Expansion in 2021

Rheinschrift Language Services – Strategic Improvements and Workforce Expansion in 2021

by Rheinschrift Language Services

Upcoming Events

See All
  1. Memsource MT Post-Editing Pricing Models Webinar

    Pricing Models for MT Post-Editing Workshop

    by Memsource

    · February 3

    Hear a panel of innovative localization professionals share different approaches for MT post-editing pricing.

    More info FREE

Featured Companies

See all
Text United

Text United

Memsource

Memsource

Wordbank

Wordbank

Protranslating

Protranslating

Seprotec

Seprotec

Versacom

Versacom

SDL

SDL

Smartling

Smartling

Lingotek

Lingotek

XTM International

XTM International

Smartcat

Smartcat

Translators without Borders

Translators without Borders

STAR Group

STAR Group

memoQ Translation Technologies

memoQ Translation Technologies

Advertisement

Popular articles

Why Netflix Shut Down Its Translation Portal Hermes

Why Netflix Shut Down Its Translation Portal Hermes

by Esther Bond

The Slator 2020 Language Service Provider Index

The Slator 2020 Language Service Provider Index

by Slator

Top Language Industry Quotes of 2020

Top Language Industry Quotes of 2020

by Monica Jamieson

SlatorPod: The Weekly Language Industry Podcast

connect with us

footer logo

Slator makes business sense of the language services and technology market.

Our Company

  • Support
  • About us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to the Slator Weekly

Language Industry Intelligence
In Your Inbox. Every Friday

© 2021 Slator. All rights reserved.

Sign up to the Slator Weekly

Join over 13,000 subscribers and get the latest language industry intelligence every Friday

Your information will never be shared with third parties. No Spam.