Q&A
Translation services for special education documents
3:05:13
ยท
107 sec
Council Member Rita Joseph inquires about the DOE's provision of translation services for special education documents. DOE representatives provide details on the number of translations, process, and turnaround times.
- From July to December 2024, DOE completed 5,269 parent-requested IEP translations, a 27% increase from the previous year
- Translations are done by a contracted vendor with over 1,300 available translators
- Translators are monitored for quality, consistency, and knowledge of terminology
- Average turnaround time for translations is approximately 11 business days
Rita Joseph
3:05:13
We understand New York City public schools provide translation services for a special education documents to parents who home language is not English, but only when parents formally ask for these translations.
3:05:23
Do New York City public schools track numbers of students who have requested, families who have requested translation for special education documents?
3:05:31
If so, how many families have made such requests during this school year?
John Hammer
3:05:34
Office of Language Access does track that number from July to December 2024.
3:05:40
OLA completed 5,269 parent requested IEP translations.
3:05:46
That's an increase of 27% compared to the same time frame of the previous school year.
Rita Joseph
3:05:50
What's the most requested language?
John Hammer
3:05:53
I I I can get that I can get that information for you.
Rita Joseph
3:05:56
Are translators assigned to this work specifically trained in terminology related to special education?
3:06:02
If so, how many translators have been trained?
3:06:04
And does New York City Public Schools currently have enough trained translators to provide the service to every family that requests 1?
John Hammer
3:06:11
Special education documents received by OLA are translated via the New York City Public Schools contracted translation, vendor.
3:06:18
OLA works closely with the vendor to ensure that over, the over 1300 available translators are monitored for quality, consistency, and knowledge of terminology.
3:06:28
It's done via the use of glossaries, style guides, translation memory tools, and internal quality control measures.
Rita Joseph
3:06:35
And these are certified translators to make sure they have that domain specific vocabulary.
3:06:40
Okay.
3:06:40
What is the average time it takes to translate these documents and provide them to families once they request?
3:06:45
What's the window?
John Hammer
3:06:46
So the turnaround time from the moment a request is made by and delivered to a New York City public school staff member, from July through December 2024, that average turnaround time was approximately 11 business days.
Rita Joseph
3:07:00
11 business days.