For several years, we have supported the effort to amend the Language Access Act of 2004 to improve compliance with, and enforcement of, the law. When this law is violated, individuals with limited English proficiency struggle to obtain justice; reporting crimes, requesting apartment inspections and appealing public benefits denials are all far more difficult without the necessary language access services.

To make the DC Language Access Act more effective, we supported an amendment in 2015 that would have created a private right of action, so that people whose rights had been violated could bring legal action to enforce their rights.

The current proposed amendment does not include a private right of action but provides an alternative enforcement mechanism that we believe would serve many of the same purposes as the private right of action.

Our most recent letter urges the quick passage of the Language Access for Education Amendment Act of 2017.

Support for Language Access for Education Amendment Act of 2017 (April 10, 2017)