Oakland Unified School District Office of Equity Translation

Oakland Unified School District Office of Equity Translation & Interpretation Policy 2020

Background Information ● On October 9, 2013, OUSD Board of Education adopted Amendment – Board Policy (BP) and Administrative Regulations (AR) – Student – Communications with Parent and Guardian and renaming each as 5124 – Communication with Parent/Guardian; Translation and Interpretation Services.

Legal Requirements for Translation Services According to Education Code 48985(a), if 15% or more of the students in a school speak a single primary language other than English, all written notices to the parents of these students shall be provided in that primary language and in English. ● Use the CALPADS (formerly called R 30) report to determine your translation/interpretation needs. ● If a school site does not have bilingual staff in the appropriate language(s), request services from OUSD Family, School & Community Partnerships - Translation Services. ● IMPORTANT: The District and Schools shall NOT use any minor to interpret or translate any communications in which there is a potential risk that confidential information may be disclosed.

Translation Policy Highlight ● Any document or communication about a specific student sent to a parent/guardian must be translated into a language the parent/guardian can understand regardless of the percentage of students in the school or the District who speak the language. Interpretation must also be provided where necessary to enable parent/guardian to understand communications with school and District staff concerning their student. Please refer to AR 5124 for more information.

Purpose ● The purpose of this policy is ensuring that, consistent with the law and to the fullest extent practicable, English learners and parents who speak languages other than English are provided translation and interpreting services, when necessary.

Goals ● Translation and interpreting services allow families of other language backgrounds to fully participate in the education of their children by receiving communication of high quality, equal to the communication provided in English to other families.

Procedures for requesting translation services ● Oral - all requests should be made at least 2 weeks in advance ◦ First come first serve ◦ Requires the following information prior to scheduling translator(s) to assist you ● Name of Requester/Contact person and contact number ● Purpose of Meeting ● Date, Time and Location for meeting ● Projected duration of the meeting ● Names of student and parents and their contact number(s) if this is an individual student meeting

Procedures for requesting translation services How to make your requests ● Written & Oral Language Needs: ● Please submit all requests via the form on: ousd. org/translation

Questions Please contact Raquel Jimenez, OUSD Office of Equity Executive Director, with any questions regarding translation: raquel. jimenez@ousd. org