Nov 12, 2002
MEMORANDUM
TO:
HEADS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES, GENERAL COUNSELS,
AND CIVIL RIGHTS DIRECTORS
FROM: Ralph F.
Boyd, Jr. /s/
Assistant Attorney General
SUBJECT: Tools to Ensure
Implementation and Understanding of
Executive Order 13166 (Improving Access to Services
for Persons with Limited English Proficiency)
I am writing to ask for your continued assistance in
implementing Executive Order 13166 to
ensure meaningful access
for limited English proficient (LEP) individuals
to federal and
federally funded benefits and services.
To assist you in this
process, I am pleased to enclose three
new tools that are
available as a result of the work of our
Federal LEP Interagency
Working Group: (1) Brochure for Federal
Agencies and Recipients;
(2) Brochure for Beneficiaries of Federally
Assisted Programs;
and (3) Self-Assessment Tool for Recipients
of Federal Financial
Assistance. Each of these tools is explained
in Part I of this
memorandum and also is available on our
LEP interagency website,
www.lep.gov.
The Outreach, Training, and Uniform Standards
Subcommittee of the LEP Interagency Working
Group developed
these instruments to assist in the implementation
of Executive
Order 13166 and Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
In Part II of this memorandum, I am asking all federal
agencies to draft or review and update
their Federal Agency LEP
Implementation Plans for their own federally
conducted programs,
and provide the Civil Rights Division
with copies of those Plans
as required by Executive Order 13166.
I. Tools
1. Brochure for
Federal Agencies and Recipients
(Applies to all 95 federal agencies)
The first brochure, entitled "Affirming
LEP Access &
Compliance in Federal and Federally Assisted
Programs," is
intended to be used as an outreach tool
by both the federal
government and federally funded entities.
As you will see, the
front cover of the brochure provides a
space where federal
agencies may place their own logo sticker
or other agency
identification. The inside portion of
the brochure provides
general information on Executive Order
13166, the elements of
the four-factor analysis for assessing
meaningful access for LEP
individuals to federal and federally assisted
programs, and a
brief overview of an effective LEP policy.
The back covers of
the brochure list the mission statement
of the LEP Interagency
Working Group and the contact information
for the Department of
Justice, including the Department's Title
VI hotline. Agencies
should substitute their own agency-specific
contact information
in place of the Department of Justice
information on the back
panel, and then make copies and distribute
the brochure as
appropriate.
2. Brochure for
Beneficiaries of Federally Assisted
Programs (Applies
to 30 federal funding agencies)
The second brochure, entitled "Know Your
Rights," is
targeted for LEP beneficiaries of federally
assisted programs.
Every effort was made to make the brochure
as concise, simple,
and reader-friendly as possible to ensure
that it would be easy
to understand and translate into various
languages. As you will
see, the inside middle column of the brochure
lists several
examples of what could constitute national
origin discrimination
based on LEP status. The inside right
column gives each federal
funding agency the option of providing
its own agency-specific
examples of situations that may raise
issues of LEP-related
national origin discrimination. If an
agency opts not to do so,
this column can be filled in with the
agency's contact
information. Federal funding agencies
should make copies of the
brochure and distribute to their recipients
as appropriate.
3. Self-Assessment
Tool for Recipients of Federal
Financial Assistance
(Specifically applies to 30
federal funding agencies but also useful for all
federal agencies in preparing their Federal Agency
LEP Implementation Plans)
The third tool developed by the LEP Interagency Working
Group is the "Language Assistance Self-Assessment
and Planning
Tool for Recipients of Federal Financial
Assistance." This
document is intended to assist organizations
that receive federal
financial assistance in their strategic
planning efforts to
ensure that program goals and objectives
address meaningful
access for all of the people they serve
or encounter, including
LEP individuals. This tool will assist
recipients in assessing
their current other-than-English language
services capabilities
and planning for the provision of language
assistance to LEP
individuals they serve or encounter.
This document also provides a framework for the development
of a Language Assistance Plan in light
of general Title VI
requirements. The program and grants offices
of federal funding
agencies should inform recipients of this
document and advise
them to use it as a framework for ensuring
compliance with
Title VI and implementation of the Executive
Order. The
Outreach, Training, and Uniform Standards
Subcommittee of the
LEP Interagency Working Group is available
to offer technical
assistance on the document to federal
agencies. Although this
tool was developed for recipients, federal
agencies also should
consider using it to assess and evaluate
their own programs as
they develop their Federal Agency LEP
Implementation Plans
discussed below.
* * *
I urge each agency to use these three important tools
developed by the LEP Interagency Working
Group. The members
of the Outreach, Training, and Uniform
Standards Subcommittee are
to be commended for their efforts in developing
the tools and
resources described above. Membership
in the LEP Interagency
Working Group, and its subcommittees,
is not merely an
extracurricular activity. The significant
contributions of
these groups help advance our combined
mission to realize the
goals of the Executive Order and Title
VI. I urge every agency
to actively participate in the LEP Interagency
Working Group,
if you do not already do so.
II. Federal Agency LEP Implementation Plans
(Applies to all 95 federal agencies)
In furtherance of full implementation of Executive
Order 13166, I am asking that each federal
agency review the
June 18, 2002 Department of Justice LEP
Recipient Guidance
Document (available at www.lep.gov),
and use it as a guide for
drafting or updating Federal Agency LEP
Implementation Plans
applicable to each agency's federally
conducted programs. Many
existing Federal Agency LEP Implementation
Plans can be viewed
at www.lep.gov(click
on "Federal Agencies" and then "Federal
Agency LEP Implementation Plans for Federally
Conducted
Programs"), although most of those are
almost two years old and
need updating. I am requesting that all
federal agencies submit
to the Department the name, address, telephone
number, and email
address of the agency official(s) responsible
for revising or
drafting the agency's LEP Implementation
Plan, as well as the
estimated date for filing the Implementation
Plan with the
Department. This information should be
submitted to Merrily
Friedlander, Chief, Coordination and Review
Section (COR), at
Merrily.A.Friedlander@usdoj.gov
no later than November 22, 2002.
In addition, as required by Executive
Order 13166, each federal
agency must send a copy of its Federal
Agency LEP Implementation
Plan to the Department (through COR in
email or paper format).
I also urge each agency to place a copy
of its Federal Agency LEP
Implementation Plan on its agency website
and to provide COR with
the agency web address so that COR can
provide a web link to the
agency Implementation Plan on www.lep.gov.
I encourage agencies
to link their relevant LEP-related materials
to this website.
Once again, I
thank you for your support of the efforts
of the LEP Interagency Working Group,
and I encourage active
participation by all federal agencies
in the Working Group.
I look forward to your continued joint
efforts in this important
endeavor.
Enclosures