Letters to Council

The D.C. Language Access Coalition occasionally drafts letters to the Council of the District of Columbia on issues pertinent to the non-English proficient and limited English proficient community in D.C. Select a link below to view the Coalition's letter for that issue.

Government Funding of Health Care Interpretation Services

On September 24, 2008, community advocates gathered at the Wilson building in downtown D.C. to testify before the City Council on the failures and successes of government agencies in implementing the D.C. Language Access Act of 2004. Isabel Van Isschot of La Clinica del Pueblo was one of those advocates. Isabel, Director of Interpretation Services at La Clinica, testified to the need for greater commitment from government agencies in covering the costs of language services provided to LEP individuals enrolled in Medicaid and Alliance. Councilmember Schwartz recommended that she forward her testimony to the City Council's Committee on Health. Click here to read the Coalition's letter to the Committee.

ESL Funding in the District of Columbia - June 17, 2008

In June of 2008, the D.C. Language Access Coalition sent a letter (Click here to read) to the City Council expressing concern about the shortage of ESL programs in the District. The letter calls attention to the high percentage of immigrants who report English-language proficiency and the long waiting lists for ESL programs across the country as evidence of immigrants' overwhelming desire to learn English. The letter encourages politicians to abandon rhetoric that casts immigrants as having little desire to learn English and take steps to expand ESL programs in D.C.

Click here to read Councilmember Jim Graham's response to the letter.

Click here to read Councilmember Carol Schwartz's response to the letter.

Results of ERC Study - October 30, 2007

At the end of October of 2007, the D.C. Language Access Coalition and the Equal Rights Center (ERC) sent a letter endorsed by dozens of community-based and national organizations to Council (Click here to read) in response to the findings of a study by the ERC on the state of language access in the District. The study found that a variety of government agencies failed to comply fully with the D.C. Language Access Act. This letter calls for the government to take action to ensure the full implementation of the Act.