World News
Cherry Creek School District settles DOJ investigation into translation issues
The Cherry Creek School District has settled a federal investigation into allegations that parents with limited English skills were unable to fully participate in their children’s education because the district failed to provide adequate translation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado has received multiple complaints over the past three years that parents in the 52,000-student Denver metro district were unable to participate in school programs and activities because of Cherry Creek’s failure to provide “effective language assistance services.” according to a settlement announcement.
Federal investigators concluded Cherry Creek failed to identify parents in need of language assistance, failed to provide them with adequate registration information, and failed to provide essential information in a language they could understand.
The Settlement agreement of 17 pagessigned Wednesday, sets out detailed requirements for how the school district must translate vital information, from student handbooks to disciplinary documents, into parents’ preferred language.
More than 150 languages are spoken by parents of children at Cherry Creek schools, the Justice Department said.
“This agreement is intended to ensure that the Cherry Creek School District implements policies and practices to enable all parents in the district to meaningfully participate in their children’s education,” Colorado U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan said in a press release.
In a statement Thursday, Cherry Creek officials said they have been working with the Department of Justice to strengthen translation systems to ensure they meet the needs of families with limited English proficiency.
“Equity is a core value of the Cherry Creek School District and it is a priority for the district to find ways to continually improve the way we serve families who speak multiple languages,” district spokesperson Abbe Smith said in a statement.
According to the settlement documents, the school district did not admit to any violations of the Equal Educational Opportunity Act by signing the agreement.
Under the agreement, Cherry Creek must identify parents with limited English proficiency who wish to enroll their children in the district; provide translation and language assistance to these parents during suspension or expulsion proceedings; and distributing surveys and holding listening sessions in more than a dozen languages to better understand communications needs.
If a language is spoken by more than 100 parents, Cherry Creek must translate messages containing vital information districtwide into that language, the settlement said. At school and class level, that threshold drops to 10 or more parents.
The agreement is for at least three years and federal officials can conduct site visits and interview staff and students to ensure Cherry Creek is in compliance with the settlement.
If the district violates the agreement, the Justice Department can renew it after three years or initiate legal proceedings to enforce the agreement, the settlement said.
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