Translation Services Still Lacking for Some Public School Parents

New York City’s Public schools have been legally required to provide parents with translation and interpretation services since 2006, but a recent report by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and an unresolved civil rights complaint filed by two city advocacy groups found this hasn’t been the case.

“I think often people think of language access as a bonus, or kind of a favor to immigrant communities,” said Kelly McAnnany of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), one the advocacy groups that filed a 2012 complaint on behalf of immigrant parents. “It’s actually legally protected.”

More than 180 languages are spoken in city schools. According to city data, more than 40 percent of public schools students speak a language other than English at home.

Schools have used those numbers to identify parents with limited English skills. Parents like Mallerlin Gamino, 39, who was born and raised in Guerrero, Mexico.

Her 13-year-old son, Julian, was diagnosed with a learning disability six years ago. Since then, Gamino has struggled to get quality interpretation during important meetings with school psychologists, therapists and teachers.

Spanish is the most spoken language in schools other than English. However, despite constant requests to have school paperwork translated, Gamino has yet to get Julian’s special education plans in English. Her son has missed out on speech and language therapy because of it.

“That’s a year of regression, a year of failure to make progress in that area,” McAnnany said. “If a parent can’t understand what their child is actually getting because they’re not getting interpretation or a translated document, that hurts the child directly.”

Every school has access to over-the-phone interpretation services, but the NYIC surveyed 175 parents this year and found that only six percent of them had ever used it.

“Language Line is available in more than 200 languages,” said Adja Midha, Project Director for Immigrant Students’ Rights at Advocates for Children, the second firm that filed the 2012 suit. “This is a great resource the city has available and that schools have available in order to communicate with parents.”

The NYIC’s survey, which came out last month, found that more than half of parents had used their children or other students as interpreters.

According to Midha, even when there is interpretation, many times it’s unprofessional. She said many times teachers or school psychologists serve as untrained interpreters, often telling parents what to do and not being neutral. 

There are schools that are doing a good job. Maria Masullo, principal of MS 577 in Williamsburg, said her school had managed an “overwhelming influx of diverse parents” with Blackboard Connect, a mass notification service that sends texts and emails in a variety of languages.

McAnnany said the city's Department of Education still has no way of holding the schools who aren’t providing translation services accountable.

A spokeswoman with the DOE said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña is committed to serving the language needs of thousands of public school families.