Civil Rights Deal Signals Federal Push for Translation Services

Expanded services for parents part of Phila. accord

The Philadelphia school district has been beefing up language-translation services for parents to carry out a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, in what is seen as a signal that the federal government is planning to press harder on schools to make school-to-home communications more accessible to all parents with limited English skills.

Stemming from the Justice Department’s investigation last year into a series of attacks on Asian students at South Philadelphia High School, the Dec. 15 agreement technically applies only to that school, but some civil rights lawyers say its specificity about language access telegraphs its potentially wider application.

It’s “a promising sign of how clear the guidance [on language access] could be for many school districts,” said James Ferg-Cadima, the Washington regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal...