Translation Bill For Schools Is in Limbo

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

A bill that would require report cards and other school papers to be translated into up to eight different languages for parents who don’t understand English is in limbo despite passing easily last week in the City Council.


The bill, the Education Equity Act, is expected to cost the city $20 million. Immigration advocates and council members who voted to approve the measure say parents are being shut out of their children’s education, and have called the issue a matter of civil rights.


The Bloomberg administration has accused the council of overstepping its jurisdiction and said that under state law only Albany or the Department of Education can legislate education issues. The mayor is not likely to sign the bill when he sits down on Thursday to sign into law dozens of other pieces of legislation. Rather than immediately officially vetoing it, however, Mr. Bloomberg is expected to wait until January, when eight new members are sworn into the 51-member body, throwing into question whether his opponents will be able to gather sufficient support to override the veto.


While the current council passed the legislation by a vote of 35-11, seven of the legislators who cast “yes” votes will not be returning for the new term. Thirty-four votes are needed to override a mayoral veto.


Both supporters and opponents of the bill are optimistic about their prospects and have already started or are gearing up to reach out to the new members.


Unlike the mayor, who is opposing the bill on procedural grounds, one of the bill’s most vocal opponents, Council Member James Oddo, the Republican minority leader, called the measure “misguided.”


“This is an attack on the most fundamental and common bonds that Americans have,” Mr. Oddo said, speaking about the English language.


Earlier this month, he sent out a letter encouraging members to vote against the bill. His effort met with some success – three of the 11 members who voted against the measure were original sponsors of the legislation.


That group includes the chairman of the Immigration Committee, Council Member Kendall Stewart, who was born in St. Vincent. He said yesterday that more money is needed to teach English as a second language rather than provide translation.


Council Member James Gennaro said that he withdrew his support because of sticker shock.


“I don’t have any problem with the bill at all – it’s just that the price tag of $20 million is an incredible amount of money,” Mr. Gennaro said.


A Democrat of southern Brooklyn, Council Member Domenic Recchia, voted for the bill in the Education Committee and then did a turnabout two weeks later, signing his name to the letter persuading members to vote against it.


The law would require translation and interpretation services to be provided in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Korean, Urdu, and Arabic. More than one in three New Yorkers are foreign-born, according to the 2000 Census.


The schools chancellor, Joel Klein, recently established a new $10 million translation unit for schools to pay for interpreters and translation of some documents. The new law would go further in specifying when and for what documents and meetings those services would have to be required.


A spokeswoman for the Department of Education, Kelly Devers, said: “While we agree with the goal of effectively communicating to non-English-speaking parents, and believe that the bill is aligned with our recently announced expansion of efforts in this area, we have serious concerns with the practical implications of the bill, including its funding.”


One of the bill’s main sponsors, Council Member Hiram Monserrate, said he is confident his side will garner the support needed.


“Everyone will be getting a call,” he said.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use