There needs to be better access for students and teachers to translators in the K-12 school systems. According to the Utah state board of Education, “Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require local education agencies (LEAs) receiving federal funds to ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are not excluded from participation or denied the benefits of a program or activity because of inaccessible or unusable facilities. 34 CFR 104.21; 28 CFR 35.149.”
Many educators in the state have a need for translators but say this resource is difficult to obtain even given the current policy in place. It is important as a multicultural society that all students and parents are able to communicate with educators. It seems that there is a shortage of translators working for schools.
I recommend that each school should have easier ways of requesting and getting the help of translators to better educate the children in our schools. I understand that competition for funds is brutal, there never seems to be enough to go around. It saddens me that there are students in our school systems who struggle to understand the material, who want nothing more than to engage and learn but are blocked because of language barriers. I think that even being better about providing them with resources to learn English as part of their curriculum would be helpful. It all starts with them being able to have someone who literally speaks their language in order to begin.
The United States was founded by people from many backgrounds and languages, it is part of what makes us great. That is still the case today, and these children should be comfortable in schools.
Amanda Robinette, Layton
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