Information for the Implementation of
California Education Code Section 48985
This enclosure accompanied the letter of February 23, 2007, from Gavin Payne, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education, to district and county superintendents regarding the new requirements added to Education Code Section 48985 as a result of Assembly Bill 680.
Assembly Bill (AB) 680 requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to notify districts, by August of each year, of the schools within the district where the languages other than English are spoken by 15 percent or more of the student body and for which translations of parental notifications are needed, pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 48985. The CDE anticipates that the first of these notifications will be made by electronic means on or before August 1, 2007. The enrollment statistics provided in the CDE’s August notifications will be based on the statistics provided by the district to the CDE in the previous year.
Some districts may need to begin preparations now to issue contracts for translation services. To do so, districts and schools may need to identify the languages for which they are likely to need translations. Districts can access the 2005-06 “15 percent and above” statistics for their schools through DataQuest, an online, searchable data resource on the CDE Web site. To obtain the necessary report, select “District” from the pull-down menu for “Select Level.” Then, from the “Subject” pull-down menu, select “English Learners,” which appears under the heading, “Student Demographics.” Click “Submit.” Next, enter the name of your district. When the list of reports appears, select the last one, “Language Groups by School Determined to Meet 15 Percent and Above Translation Need.” The “15 percent and above” language groups will be indicated for each school. For more detailed information about the language groups at a particular school, click on the name of the school.
The DataQuest statistics are based upon information districts themselves provide to the CDE: the annual California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) report and the annual Spring Language Census or R-30. The CBEDS enrollment data are used as a denominator in calculating percentages for language groups at each school. Each year, the CDE’s Data Management Division will update the “15 percent and above” statistics in time for the August notifications to districts. Each update will reflect the statistics provided by the district for the previous school year. In August 2007, for example, the new reports will reflect data for 2006-07.
To acquire more up-to-date information about the likely language groups for which translations may be needed, districts may take into account their schools’ most recent enrollment data, the trends of current immigration into the local community, and similar factors. Districts or schools may calculate the percentages for each of their language groups by summing English learner (EL) and fluent-English proficient (FEP) students for each language and dividing the sum by the total enrollment for the school. If you have any questions regarding DataQuest or the calculations used in identifying languages for translation, please contact Eric Vu, Associate Information Systems Analyst, Education Demographics Unit, at 916-327-0214 or by e-mail.
The Value of Local Translation Consortia
In implementing EC Section 48985, districts will also want to consider ways of reducing the translation burden upon schools while increasing the number of translations available to them.
The formation of local “language translations consortia” can be beneficial in this regard. In such consortia, districts collaborate with other districts that have common needs for translations in particular languages, dividing the responsibilities for translating different parental notifications.
For example, if Districts A, B, and C have a common need for translations in Somali; and if these districts identify a common need for translated notifications regarding truancy, testing, and parents’ rights, then District A might focus its translation resources on truancy notifications; District B, on testing notifications; and District C, on parents’ rights notifications. The resulting Somali translations would be shared among consortia members. Each district could revise the translations to suit local needs (e.g., local contact information, meeting dates). By leveraging combined resources through local consortia, districts can reduce the translation workload and costs.
To assist local educational agencies (LEAs) in identifying fellow districts with common language needs, the CDE has prepared two special data reports based upon the “15 percent and above” statistics mentioned earlier in this enclosure. The special data reports appear on the Web site for the CDE’s Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents (CMD) at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/pf/cm. When at the CMD site, click on the link, “Translation Resources and Language Group Data.” Then, scroll down to see “Language Data for Districts and Schools.” By clicking on the first report, districts can begin to identify, by language, the districts and schools that have common needs for translations in specific languages. Using this information, a district can contact other districts and initiate discussions for forming language consortia.
County offices of education may be able to provide valuable assistance to districts by forming translations consortia. We encourage county offices to consider ways that they might facilitate the formation of consortia, perhaps within their county office service regions. At the CMD site mentioned above, the second data report is provided for use by interested counties.
Additional information about the CMD is provided below.
A New Publication
Quality Indicators for Translation and Interpretation in Kindergarten through Grade Twelve Educational Settings
A new publication by the CDE, Quality Indicators for Translation and Interpretation in Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve Educational Settings, offers valuable and practical information for improving the quality of local translations. The book was developed by the CDE’s Language and Policy Leadership Office (LPLO), assisted by a committee of field-based experts in the areas of EL issues, language acquisition and policy, educational administration, translations and interpretation, counseling, and community relations. It provides useful information regarding translation and interpretation, guidelines for translators and interpreters, and valuable local, state, and national resources.
An English/Spanish translation glossary of commonly used educational terms is also provided in the publication. The glossary was developed by the LPLO in collaboration with the CDE’s Standards and Assessment Division. Districts are free to use the glossary as a reference. The glossary also appears on the CDE Web site, under “CDE Glossaries,” at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/pf/cm/transref.asp. In the future the glossary will be expanded and updated on an ongoing basis, and the CDE hopes to provide translations glossaries for additional languages.
Quality Indicators for Translation and Interpretation is available free of charge from the CDE Press’s “Free Downloads” Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd. Hard copies of the publication are available at the purchase price of $15 per copy, plus shipping and handling and (where applicable) sales tax. Orders may be directed to the CDE Press Sales Office, 1430 N Street, Suite 3207, Sacramento, CA 95814 or faxed to 916-323-0823. Telephone orders may be placed by calling 800-995-4099.
If you have any questions regarding Quality Indicators for Translation and Interpretation, please contact Nancy Zarenda, Education Programs Consultant, LPLO, at 916-319-0263 or by e-mail.
The CMD
The requirements of EC Section 48985 and the passage of AB 680 underscore the necessity of sharing resources in order to meet the demands of law and to lessen translation workload and redundancy.
The CDE’s CMD is an online resource that has great potential as a resource for districts to meet legal requirements more easily. Through the CMD, LEAs may share, locate, and access parental notification documents translated into non-English languages, thereby reducing some of the translations burden throughout the state. The sharing of translations through the CMD allows other schools to revise translations to suit local needs. As of January 2007, the CMD makes available to registered users more than 300 translations that have been provided by the CDE and more than a dozen districts.
The success of the CMD, however, relies upon the willingness of districts to voluntarily share quality translations through the CMD database.
If your district has good translations of parental notifications, the CDE strongly requests and encourages your support of LEAs throughout the state by sharing the translations through the CMD. Contributors to the CMD tell us that the time required to enter a translation into the CMD is typically only four–six minutes per document.
Our goal is to have a minimum of ten districts to each share ten quality translations through the CMD by the summer of 2007. The potential usefulness of the CMD would be increased by 100 new documents—a positive gain in assisting districts throughout the state in complying more easily with EC Section 48985 and (more importantly) in improving communications with parents who speak a non-English language.
Please authorize your district staff to support the CMD by making district translations available to other LEAs.
The CMD Provides Helpful Information to Users
When sharing a translated notification through the CMD, contributors indicate the type of translator responsible for the translation (for example, if the translation was done by a certified translator on staff, a professional translation service, a language speaker volunteer). By clicking on the title of a document listed in the CMD database, registered users of the CMD are able to access this information, along with the name of the contributing district and contact information for each translation, in the event of questions. Registered users will also find links to the English-language source document as well as the actual translation. By utilizing these features, district personnel can more easily review documents, assess their usefulness, download them, and revise them as necessary to suit local needs.
The quality of translations available through the CMD will improve and expand only as the districts and the CDE contribute high-quality translations to it. Consequently, the CMD urges the participation and contributions of districts that provide good quality, copyright-free translations.
During 2007, the CDE plans to make available several new translations of selected parental notifications in different languages. As part of the translation process, the CDE’s translations will go through a minimum of two reviews by qualified translators—reviews that will help to ensure accuracy and correctness. As new translations become available, they will be posted on the CDE Web site and added to the CMD.
How to Participate in the CMD
Participation in the CMD is free of charge. If you are uncertain if someone from your district has already registered for the CMD, a link is provided on the CMD home page for your reference. Click on “List of registered educational agencies.” Registered agencies will be listed by county.
If your agency has not yet registered, getting started in the CMD is easy. Authorize a staff member to e-mail the CMD and request access codes for your agency. After receiving the access codes, your staff member may share or assign access codes to as many other persons as your organization requires. All recipients of access codes register at the CMD site. Thereafter, your newly registered users need only to log in at the CMD home page to reach the CMD database and all of the available translations. (The CMD home page provides links and contact information for additional assistance.)
Only by registering can districts and county offices gain access to all the information about available translations or share local translations with other registered districts.
If you have any questions regarding the CMD, please contact Rod Atkinson, Education Programs Consultant, CMD, at 916- 445-6109 or by e-mail.
