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    IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

     

    New Office of Language Access Services Training and Event Calendar: Are you interested in improving your knowledge of the District's language access services? Attend our drop-in training sessions, webinars, Q&A sessions, and upcoming OLAS events to discover more about the resources and tools that can assist your school or department's language access requirements. Don't miss out on these opportunities! Kindly refer to the calendar for further information.

     

    Parent Feedback/Inquiry Form: We request that all BPS staff share the Language Access Services Feedback/Inquiry Form with families and staff after every translation or interpretation event to improve our language access services. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/Page/5890.


     

    Please check out TalkingPoints Back To School Webinar Recording or Presentation. You can also sign up for one of the upcoming sessions: September 7th and September 21st (Morning Sessions at 11 AM), or the afternoon sessions at 3:00 PM, September 14th or September 28th

     

    Webinar: The Link Between Family Engagement and Student Behavior - This webinar will focus on utilizing TalkingPoints to collaborate with families to impact student behavior outcomes specifically. We’ll focus on the research that shows what moves the needle for positive behavior and specific product features and recommendations for how to use TalkingPoints to do that. Register now to join this webinar!  here

     

    TalkingPoints Updates - See the new features: Have you checked out the latest TalkingPoints newsletter? They've added some awesome new features and functions for the upcoming school year.  For additional information and resources, please visit our website's TalkingPoints section.   

     

OFFICE OF LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES (OLAS)

What We Do

  • The mission of the Office of Language Access Services (OLAS), formerly the Translation & Interpretation Unit, is to ensure families have meaningful access to all aspects, programs, opportunities, and services pertaining to their children’s education by providing a multitude of language services via internal and external resources to safeguard communications.

    The Office of Language Access Services manages language access for the District. A large portion of this work entails coordinating translation and interpretation services to facilitate communication with parents/guardians whose primary language is not English. Please read our BPS memorandum, “BPS Office of Family & Community Advancements Translation & Interpretation Services Protocol,” for additional information. We currently translate into the 9 major languages of the District (other languages available upon request):

    Arabic | Cape Verdian Creole | Chinese | French | Haitian Creole | Portuguese | Somali | Spanish | Vietnamese

Requesting Services

  • Parents/Guardians: If you need translation and interpretation services, contact the main office of your child/children(s) school. If your preferred language of communication is other than English, the District/School must provide you “Essential Information” in the language you specify. Page three of the BPS memorandum provides examples of “Essential Information” requiring translation & interpretation. In addition, please review the DOJ Fact Sheet that clarifies your language access rights.

    Boston Public School Employees: Please request translation and interpretation services through our Veoci Request portal. Each school and office has its assigned set of requesters: Principal/Headmaster, his/her designee (optional, must notify T&I Unit via email), the COSE and the COSE’s secretary. Note that any language access work performed outside of the District’s established T&I protocol will be at the requesting party’s expense.

     

    Click on the service below to learn more! 

    LINK FOR TRANSLATIONS

    LINK FOR INTERPRETATION

    LINK FOR TELEPHONIC (LIONBRIDGE)

    LINK TO TALKINGPOINTS

     

     

Contact Us