Support Grows In Assembly For School Translation Bill

A bill to require student Individualized Education Plans (IEP) to be translated for parents whose first language is not English, gained momentum in the Assembly in the past few weeks following passage in the Senate last month.

Senate Bill 445, authored by Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank), would specifically require local educational agencies to take “any action necessary” to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings during the planning process for IEPs. Under SB 445, this would include communicating in the parent’s native language, or in another mode of communication used by the parent, arranging for an interpreter, providing translation services, and providing alternative communication services. The local education agency would then be required to translate the IEP to the native language of the parent, as well as any other surrounding revisions or documents. IEPs under the bill would be required to be fully translated within 30 days or less of the initial issuance of the IEP.

In addition, SB 445 would require the California Department of Education to revise its notice of procedural safeguards, in English and in the primary languages for which the department has developed translated versions, to inform parents of their right to request the translation of the IEP documents.

Senator Portantino authored the bill over the large number of parents with special needs children who do not fully understand what the IEP meant, because of a language barrier. While verbal translators are currently available in schools for parents from local education agencies like individual schools or the school district, some terms are ‘lost in translation’ when not asked about, or forgotten by parents due to not being able to refer to the IEP in case any questions come up. The Senator also noted that, in cases when the IEP is translated, often times it is not done in a timely manner or is translated to a wrong dialect or language type, worsening the situation for the parents and sometimes even resulting in special education support to be missed completely.

“SB 445 ensures that parents will be able read and comprehend their children’s IEP to better be involved in their child’s academic life,” said Senator Portantino earlier this month in a statement. “Language barriers for parents are a hurdle that can and should be overcome. Parental engagement early in a child’s academic life is critical to helping districts provide necessary services for students to reach their potential and achieve success.”

SB 445 in the Senate

When first introduced in February, there was some initial worry that the bill would lead to increased translation affecting the education of the child, possibly affecting their English-language classes. However, clarifications in that only the IEPs and surrounding documents would be translated for the parents not being able to fully read or understand English in order to know their child’s full situation quickly quelled concerns. SB 445 was subsequently supported by both Republican and Democrat lawmakers, passing unanimously in three Senate committees before being approved by the Senate last month 40-0.

“We are thrilled that the IEP translation bill passed the Senate floor unanimously,” noted Youth Practice Group attorney Gabriella Torres. “Mandating a 30-day timeline for translating IEPs will allow all families meaningful participation and the ability to read and understand the IEP of their disabled child. Currently, families are put in the unfortunate predicament of having to sign a document they cannot truly understand or wait months. This can result in missed supports and services for disabled students. What this bill does is mandate what is already a federal requirement to provide a timely translation. We are very grateful for the support we have received so far from the California Legislature on this very important bill.”

With  the strong showing in the Senate, the bill continued to gain support in the Assembly this month, with many lawmakers giving further support to the bill this week.

“As soon as it was clarified as a bill that would simply give a fully translated IEP to parents struggling to learn English in a timely manner, so they fully understand their child’s situation and can help guide their future, then yeah, everyone was on board,” child ESL advisor Carmen Rojas told the Globe Wednesday. “Parents need to understand what is going on with their children’s education, and even if they are full citizens who have been here for decades, there are parents here who struggle read English and understand completely what school forms say. Even if they use google translate, there are a lot of terms, abbreviated terms, acronyms, specific scientific and medical words, and words just found in the English language and not, say, Spanish or Korean or French, that they’ll find hard to understand.”

“This is why lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are supporting this. It helps the parent, it helps the students, and it helps the district. First generation parents coming from any non-English speaking country often have a hard time picking up the language in full, and this bill helps out with that on something critical for their children.”

SB 445 is expected to be heard in the Assembly soon, where it is also expected to pass.