Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Language Access in education: unabashed support for HB 1709 and HB 1815


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

 

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