RantWoman has lost patience with the legislative webapage leg.wa.gov FOR NOW. RantWoman will spare her readers more details and hopes that small moment of vexation will not detract from efforts to communicate the following thoughts about the two bills mentioned. If you really need another RantWoman tirade, tune in another day and MAYBE RantWoman will have time to oblige.
January 22, 2014
Dear Members of the Legislature,
I am writing in support of House Bill 1709 and House
Bill 1815. I live in the 37th district and I am pleased to see that
Rep. Pettigrew and Rep. Santos are listed as co-sponsors. I would like to thank all the co-sponsors for
backing this important legislation.
I am certified as a social services interpreter in
Russian. I also speak Spanish and have considerable family experience with
language access concerns for my sister, brother-in-law and middle school age
nephew in their bicultural household. For instance I become positively rabid
when an adult expects my nephew to interpret for his father; I also spend lots of
time trying to help everyone get the right help from trained adults.
I have attended a number of kinds of training
including classes in the Translation and Interpretation Institute at Bellevue
College, and undergraduate degree in Russian and graduate school research using
Russian language materials. Currently, I occasionally take on both translation
(written) and interpreting (oral) assignments but the focus of my work has
shifted.
I have been involved in a number of small grant
funded community disaster preparedness and computer training projects where
language access and capacity building about educational issues for LEP
communities have been important components of the projects. I have also
participated as a citizen volunteer in several transportation related bodies
and have taken note of many different language access issues related to
transportation.
I listened to testimony at the most recent House
Education Committee hearing and I would like to offer comments in preparation
for today’s Executive Session.
--I heard testimony and questions from the committee
which seemed to suggest that language access is only possible in large school
districts. In fact ALL school districts have obligations under Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. For a training program and certification process to
meet needs across the state, some districts might need options for locating,
evaluating and hiring bilingual staff. In much smaller districts, an
opportunity to subscribe to a phone service that can provide certified adult
language resources trained in the specific vocabulary and terminology of
education in WA could be invaluable in supporting student achievement as well
as parental involvement and of course meeting obligations under Title VI.
--I mention the importance of vocabulary specific to
WA for a number of reasons. Last week’s hearings mentioned that the call
centers which hold the contracts for WA’s current phone interpretation line are
located in Great Britain, Costa Rica, and I believe Bolivia. As someone who
spends a certain amount of time paying attention to what different roles in
neighboring states equivalent of DSHS are called, I notes that perhaps the
people who work in these call centers find it interesting to learn about
something far away. However, even though I know state websites reach Britain as
well as Yakima I share the concerns raised in the hearing about the
certifications and training of people in distant call centers.
As a WA taxpayer, I also
have a concern that the best value for WA taxpayers may actually NOT be sending
WA tax dollars to far off countries but rather multiplying the payoff of
investments in our own communities. LEP communities include people with a whole
spectrum of abilities in both English and their family / heritage language.
Part of the definition of community is working together on common problems.
There are many situations where having a well-trained interpreter schooled in
language, ethics, and the different parts of community process is critical for
all sides.
However there are other
times other models of language access also add substantial value. People who
know more than one language can contribute to their community’s awareness even
if the individuals for one reason or another do not possess all the exact
skills needed to be interpreters. One example is the culture broker model. A
culture broker is a bilingual member of the community whose role also is to be
trained in issues related to some specific area and to enable members of the
community to work with the necessary civil, public, educational processes more
effectively. In other cases, where interpreters are expected to be neutral
bridges, knowledgable members of a community might play important roles as
non-neutral advocates.
I hope work resulting from
enactment of these bills would also include creation of language specific
educational material, PSA’s, targeted marketing, or community trainings about
schooling and things like FERPA. Honestly, as a language professional who
sometimes works with badly designed materials in English, I wonder whether a
look at how school districts think through WA might language access needs might
also create paths to refined communications and improved parental involvement
and better awareness for all parents, not just the ones with limited English.
When I speak of ensuring better payoff for WA taxpayers than just
subcontracting to overseas call centers, I have in mind communications efforts
like this.
--At last week’s hearing I heard one person note
that WSDA, the WA School Directors’ Association does not really create
policies; rather it only offers guidance and leaves actual policies up to
school districts. I hope this legislation will do as much as possible to create
opportunities for districts to learn more about these issues, to partner with
language services vendors and LEP communities to collaborate effectively, and
to promote adoption of meaningful language access policies.
--One example of possible collaboration comes to
mind from the hearing. I was surprised to hear one person speaking for
interpreters is unfamiliar with FERPA, the current privacy provisions for
school information. In other domains, interpreters sometimes take continuing
education classes aimed at the professionals the interpreters work with. Would
WSDA have existing training practices that interpreters could take part in to
learn the vocabulary?
Last week’s hearing suggested that a number of
points from the proposed legislation might get adjusted as the bill passes
through the legislature. This letter offers some suggestions meant for that
process. I want to express strong support for the legislature taking up these
bills and I hope that the bills will make it into law.
Thank you all for your work on this important
matter.
Sincerely,
(RantWoman)
Seattle WA
No comments:
Post a Comment