Fiscal Year 2018 → Question 1

What is the current level of service of translation services and what is the plan to support the future increases in needs?

Question#: 6

ANSWER:

Translation Services (Written Translation Services)

The Language Services Assistance Unit (LASU) currently provides translation services to all Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) facilities, schools and offices, in six (6) languages: Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
The scope of translation services provided by LASU includes, but is not limited to:

  • Individual letters required by federal or state law
  • Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
  • County wide informational materials (Parent Guides, Early Entrance to Kindergarten booklets, Student’s rights and Responsibilities, Student Code of Conduct, Employee Code of Conduct, Guide to Religious Diversity, etc.)
  • School wide invitation flyers, letters, newsletters
  • Bi-weekly county wide newsletters (QuickNotes)
  • Instructional Informational materials (Parent Newsletters Reading & Math, Progress Report Cards, How to read interim reports, Resource Teacher (RT) parent guides, etc.)
  • MCPS Language sites
  • Letters, Testimonies, Appeal letters, etc. from the language to English
  • TV Scripts (News, Superintendent messages, etc.)
  • Emergency messages

Interpretation Services (Oral Face to Face Interpretation Services)

The interpretation team in LASU works with professional part-time MCPS staff to provide real-time, face-to-face communication with individual students, their families, and groups of students or parents to facilitate communication with those who communicate best in a language other than English.
LASU provides interpreters to the following types of meetings:

  • IEP meeting
  • Annual Review IEP meeting
  • Parent-Teacher Conference
  • Educational Management Team (EMT) Meeting
  • Eligibility Assessment
  • School-Wide Meeting
  • Screening clinic
  • Reevaluation Planning IEP meeting
  • School-Based Speech Assessment
  • Reevaluation Determinations IEP meeting
  • Central IEP meeting
  • BAT Bilingual Assessment
  • Initial Referral/Screening
  • Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting (Annual Review; 6 – Month Review)
  • International Student Admission Meeting – Schools Counseling, Residency and International Admissions (SCRIA)
  • Development Evaluation Services for Children (DESC) assessment
  • School-Based Educational Assessment
  • Periodic Review IEP meeting
  • Eligibility Evaluation IEP meeting
  • Initial eligibility and IEP development meeting (Prior to age 3; Return from Extended C)
  • Disciplinary Hearing
  • County-Wide Meeting
  • School-Based Psychological Assessment
  • 504 Meeting
  • School Tour
  • Transition Assessment
  • Language Dominance Assessment
  • Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Meeting
  • Intake for Alternative Program
  • Preschool Education Program (PEP) Home Visit
  • Kindergarten Orientation
  • Meeting with Staff
  • Psychological Assessment
  • Parent Academy – Office of Student and Family Support and Engagement (OSFSE)
  • Implementation of Initial Services/Intake meeting
  • Student-Teacher Conference
  • speech assessment
  • Cluster Meeting
  • Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Meeting – Headsets ONLY
  • Bilingual Assessment Team (BAT) Psychological Assessment
  • Counseling Session
  • Transition Planning Meeting (TPM)

To support the future increases in needs, LASU is requesting a 1.0 Amharic translator. This action will reduce costs on the written translations and that money will be used to increase the support on interpretation services to schools and offices.