Flushing family in federal suit against Ed. Dept.
Class action litigation seeks to rectify lack of translation services for special ed parents
BY BILL PARRY
A federal civil rights
lawsuit was filed against the
city’s Department of Education
on behalf of four families —
including one from Queens —
for denying interpretation and
translation services to Limited
English Proficient parents
who don’t speak English.
Legal Services NYC filed
the suit in the Eastern District
of New York for the Spanish-
and Chinese-speaking
plaintiffs who allege school
officials routinely denied
them oral interpretation
and written translations
when communicating vital
information about their
children’s well-being and
academic progress, including
during emergency situations
and regular academic
evaluation meetings related to
their children’s disabilities.
“As a parent, I find
it unconscionable that
information about my child
could be denied or withheld
because of the language I
speak,” Legal Services NYC
Senior Staff Attorney Amy
Leipziger said. “In this
case, the DOE repeatedly
denied LEP parents critical
information about their
children’s health, well-being,
and education by refusing
to provide interpreters and
translation services, causing
the parent unnecessary fear
and anxiety by resulting in a
denial of services and support
for their children. The DOE
has a clear legal obligation to
give LEP parents meaningful
access to their children’s
education, yet time and again,
they refused to do so.”
One parent — Flushing
resident Hui Qin Liu, the
mother of an 8-year-old
daughter with autism who
attends P.S. 76 — received
a call in English from her
daughter’s bus driver telling
her that her daughter had a
seizure and was being taken to
the emergency room.
Liu, a native Mandarin
Photo via Getty Images
speaker, was able to decipher
the name of the hospital but
had no other information about
he daughter’s well-being.
On another occasion, Liu’s
daughter came home with
bite marks on her body. After
making a written request for
an explanation from the school,
she received a phone call, in
English, but understood none
of it. Another parent asked the
school for a Spanish interpreter
in advance of a school meeting
but was asked, “Why don’t
you learn English?” by a staff
member in response.
“Every parent deserves
information, of any kind,
regarding their child’s
education communicated to
them in the language they
speak,” state Senator John Liu
said. “In these cases, parents
were not only denied a critical
role in their child’s education
plans, they were not formally
alerted then their child’s
physical safety was in harm’s
way. The DOE caused these
families trauma. Moreover,
they are in violation of the
basic law that every child
is entitled to a high-quality
public school education.”
The lawsuit alleges the
DOE violated Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
which prohibits institutions
receiving federal funds from
discriminating on the basis
of national origin, as well
as NYC Human Rights Law
and the Equal Educational
Opportunities Act.
The parents are seeking
compensatory damages,
penalties and restorative
justice relief including that
DOE notify LEP parents of
their right to obtain free
interpretation to communicate
with school personnel and free
translation of their children’s
Individualized Education
program.
Read more on QNS.com.
NEW YORK CITY STANDARDS FOR
RESPECTFUL CARE at BIRTH
You Deserve:
EDUCATION
To ask and receive information
about your health care, health care
provider and birthing options.
DECISION-MAKING
To decide what happens with your
body and your baby.
SUPPORT
To receive support during pregnancy,
labor and childbirth and after childbirth.
INFORMED CONSENT
To make your own decisions about all
of your medical procedures.
For more information about the NYC Standards for Respectful
Care at Birth, search SRJ at nyc.gov/health or call 311.
QUALITY
OF CARE
To experience the highest
quality health care.
DIGNITY AND
NONDISCRIMINATION
To be treated with dignity and respect
during pregnancy, labor and childbirth
and after childbirth.
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM JUNE 14-20, 2019 5
/QNS.com
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