Department of Justice Issues Guidance on Language Access. What does it mean?

On Monday, July 14, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released formal guidance for federal agencies to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14,224, which declares English as the official language of the United States.  The DOJ will oversee a government-wide initiative to eliminate programs that do not align with the executive order. President Trump’s executive order also repeals President Clinton’s Executive Order No. 13,166, which required federal agencies to enhance access for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).

The Department of Justice’s guidance directs federal agencies to:

• Review and rescind previous guidance tied to Executive Order 13,166 if not legally mandated
• Consider limiting services to English-only, where permitted by law
• Use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine translation to reduce manual translation costs
• Label translated materials with disclaimers stating English is the official language
• Redirect savings from reduced translation efforts to English education programs

What is still protected:

• Sign language interpreters may still be protected – “[r]ecipients of federal financial assistance also have a continuing obligation under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that their communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others.”
• “The denial of language assistance services can be evidence of discrimination on the basis of national origin or disability under certain circumstances.
• The guidance for federal agencies must still comply with applicable law and the Constitution

Things to note:

• The DOJ’s memo states that language proficiency is not a protected characteristic under the Equal Protection Clause or Title VI, “unless used as a deliberate proxy for discrimination.”
• Money currently used to reduce translation costs will be moved to programs to improve English proficiency, mainly through AI and machine translation

What’s Next?

• Federal agencies must provide input and recommendations on English-only formats for programs and policies and internal language access plans
• Within 180 days, the DOJ plans to issue new guidance on “prioritizing English while explaining exactly when and how multilingual assistance remains necessary to fulfill the federal agencies’ mission and efficiently provide Government services.”
  • The new guidance will be open for public comments for 30 days.

To read the full statement from the Department of Justice, click here. The full, English only, guidance can be read here.