Overview of Major Policies

Here is a brief historical overview of major US language access policies that have shaped and continue to shape the country’s linguistic and cultural landscapes.

Civil Rights Act

The foundation of US language access policies can be traced back to 1963, when, according to the US Department of Justice, President John F. Kennedy asserted that “simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color, or national origin] discrimination.” Cognizant of the need, a year later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is most known for its Title VI (or 42 USC § 2000d et seq.). Section 601 thereof stipulates that, “no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This landmark legislation created fertile ground for the passage of subsequent language access policies that aimed to ensure no one is discriminated against on account of their limited English proficiency (LEP) — especially with regards to federally funded services.

Lau v. Nichols

History was made when Title VI was cited in the 1974 Supreme Court case of Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563. Led by Kinney Kinmon Lau and other non-English-speaking Chinese students in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) — where the only language of instruction was English — this class action lawsuit fought for equal education for LEP students. According to the Oyez Project, the school system then “only provided about 1,000 [students] with supplemental English language courses,” which meant that Lau and many others did not receive the needed courses and therefore had to pursue their studies in English despite not speaking the language. The lawsuit against SFUSD claimed that they were being discriminated against and deprived of equal education due to their LEP status, as per Title VI.

When the Supreme Court ruled that SFUSD was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it cited the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW) Memo Regarding Language Minority Children. The memo was issued on May 25, 1970, to identify the active steps that school districts can take to comply with Title VI. The memo reads, “where inability to speak and understand the English language excludes national origin-minority group children from effective participation in the educational program offered by a school district, the district must take affirmative steps to rectify… and open its instructional program to these students.”

Although this is a case-based judicial decision that may not necessarily apply to other cases, we owe a debt of gratitude for Lau V. Nichols for making school interpreting a legitimate concept. This ruling does not guarantee that LEP students will not be left behind, but it demonstrates that not speaking the mainstream language is not a learning disability. It is partly because of this ruling that US schools today do not relent when it comes to appointing interpreters for LEP students in need.

Court Interpreters Act

Like education, justice also hinges on language access being carried out fairly. Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, the Court Interpreters Act of 1978 serves as a cornerstone for ensuring fairness in the administration of justice in the US. As per 28 USC § 1827 (b), directors are required to “prescribe, determine, and certify the qualifications of persons who may serve as certified interpreters in courts of the United States in bilingual proceedings.” Per this legislation, to ensure everybody’s fair access to legal services, courts must appoint “qualified, certified, and professional” interpreters only.

Executive Order 13166

A few years later, a milestone in championing language access rights for the US LEP population was achieved. On August 11, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13166 (EO 13166) entitled Improving Access to Services for People with Limited English Proficiency. As per EO 13166, all federal government agencies are required to examine and identify any services for LEP persons, and design and implement language access plans accordingly. To best cater for the needs of a multilingual beneficiary base, many US government agencies now offer their services and materials in languages other than English. For example, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles now administers its knowledge test in eight languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Russian, Somali, and Spanish.