Overview of Executive Order 13166
On August 11, 2000, the
President signed Executive Order 13166, "Improving Access to Services for Persons
with Limited English Proficiency." The Executive Order requires Federal
agencies to examine the services they provide, identify any need for services to those
with limited English proficiency (LEP), and develop and implement a system to provide
those services so LEP persons can have meaningful access to them. It is expected
that agency plans will provide for such meaningful access consistent with, and without
unduly burdening, the fundamental mission of the agency. The Executive Order also
requires that the Federal agencies work to ensure that recipients of Federal financial
assistance provide meaningful access to their LEP applicants and beneficiaries.
To assist Federal agencies in carrying out these
responsibilities, the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a Policy Guidance
Document, "Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - National
Origin Discrimination Against Persons With Limited English Proficiency" (LEP
Guidance). This LEP Guidance sets forth the compliance standards that recipients of
Federal financial assistance must follow to ensure that their programs and activities
normally proprovided in English are accessible to LEP persons and thus do not discriminate on
the basis of national origin in violation of Title VI's prohibition against national
origin discrimination.
The Coordination
and Review Section is responsible for governmentwide coordination
with respect to Executive Order 13166. The Section serves as the federal repository for the internal
implementation plans that each federal agency is required to develop, to ensure meaningful
access to its own federally conducted programs and activities, and it also reviews and
approves each funding agency’s external LEP guidance for its recipients. As the
Department of Justice prepared its own plan, the Section reviewed and approved each
component’s submission. Further, the Section developed the
Department’s external guidance for its own recipients.
The Section has initiated an aggressive program of intra- and
inter-agency consultations and actively solicits comments and suggestions from
representatives of recipient and LEP individuals on how to identify and address the needs
of LEP individuals under Executive Order 13166 in an effective and cost-effective manner.
Commonly
Asked Questions and Answers Regarding Executive Order 13166: Providing
Meaningful Access to Individuals Who Are Limited English Proficient to
Federally Assisted and Federally Conducted Programs And Activities
Guidance
and Materials Specific to DOJ Recipients and Components
Executive Order 13166
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August 11, 2000
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Executive
Order 13166 "Improving Access to Services for Persons
with Limited English Proficiency." Reprinted at 65 Federal
Register 50121 (August 16, 2000). This Executive Order
sets forth the dual purpose of ensuring meaningful access
to federal and federally assisted programs and activities and
promoting programs and activities designed to help individuals
learn English.
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Guidance from the Department of Justice
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June 18, 2002
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Department
of Justice Final LEP Guidance to DOJ Recipients (PDF)
Reprinted at 67 Federal Register 41455 (June 18, 2002). This guidance is directed toward DOJ recipients,
and also serves as a model for other agency recipient guidance. |
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Memoranda from the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
November 12, 2002
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Memorandum
to Agencies (PDF)
- With hotlinks to three tools for ensuring implementation and
understanding of EO 13166 and Title VI.. |
July 8, 2002
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Memorandum
to Agencies (PDF)- Announcing procedures for: (1) Publishing
recipient LEP guidance; (2) Creating or modifying federal agency
Language Access Plans; and (3) Participating in the Interagency
Working Group on LEP. |
Office of Management and Budget
Other Links
Coordination and
Review Section, Civil Rights Division, EO 13166 Page
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