Access OEO's Services with Interpretation or Translation
- Request Interpretation when you call
OEO uses a telephone interpreter service. Call 1-866-297-2597 and request an interpreter by saying the name of the language you speak.
- Find translated copies of Working with OEO (brief information about how we work), and OEO's Permission to Contact Schools forms here:
- Request a translation or interpretation of OEO documents by calling 1-866-297-2597 or emailing us at oeoinfo@gov.wa.gov
Language Access Resources for Families
Parents have a right to receive important information from schools in a language they can understand. School Districts must provide interpretation and/or translation services, when needed, to communicate with parents who have limited English (including parents with limited speaking, listening, reading or writing fluency in English).
Read more about the Rights of Parents with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and obligations of school districts at the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights web page, here: here
(Fact Sheets for Limited English Proficient Parents and for Schools and School Districts that Communicate with them posted in multiple languages, including Cambodian, Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.)
Quick tips for Parents/Families: If you need interpretation or translation to understand information from your child's school or to communicate with your child's school:
- Ask for an interpreter at the school's front desk, or ask if the staff person can get an interpreter on the telephone using a “language line”;
- Call the school's main phone number and ask for an interpreter;
- Send a short email (in English or in your own language) asking for someone to call you, with an interpreter, to plan a meeting or talk about a question or concern.
Example email to request an interpreter:
Dear Teacher (or Principal, Counselor, Nurse):
My name is ____ I am the mother of ____. I want to talk with you about my child. Can you please call me with an interpreter? My phone number is: ____. Thank you.
- If you receive a written notice, an email, or other document in English and you do not understand it, ask the person who sent it for a translation into your language.
- If the person cannot provide a full written translation in time, ask to meet with a school staff person and an interpreter to have the document orally translated, with enough time for you to take notes.
Communicating-with-Schools_Language-Access-Trifold-Multilanguage.pdf or, OEO's Interpretation Support Tip Card (English/Spanish)
If you have questions, or need help getting interpretation or translation, try contacting:
- Your child's Principal;
- Your school district's Director of English Language (ELL) Services; or
- Your school district's Equity Director.
If you need help, please call OEO at 1-866-267-2597. Phone interpretation is available.
Language Access Resources for School Districts
Find information and resources at OSPI's Equity & Civil Rights Interpretation and Translation Services page, including:
- Civil rights laws that require school districts to communicate with parents in a language they can understand;
- Fact sheets on Parents' Rights re Interpretation and Translation Services translated into 21 different languages;
- Multi-language poster informing families how to request interpretation or translation;
- Link to WSSDA Language Access Policy and Procedure;
- Details for setting up a telephone interpreter service and/or written translation services via the state contract;
- Links to online training for interpreters, and school staff who work with interpreters.
http://www.k12.wa.us/Equity/Interpretation.aspx You can also check out OEO's handout on Communicating with Families Using an Interpreter.