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Parents and advocates press district for better language access, immigrant‑sensitive practices and teacher licensure pathways
Summary
Multiple speakers and emails told the board that language access and immigrant family supports are inadequate, citing lack of simultaneous interpretation, fear of ICE, mental‑health needs and obstacles for immigrant teachers seeking licensure or to work in district schools.
Several parents, community leaders and advocates told the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education on Sept. 25 that the district must improve language access, protect immigrant families from enforcement fears and remove barriers that prevent immigrant educators from being hired.
“Migrant families…we don't have the security system for family immigrants in the school,” said Miriam Luevano, addressing interpretation and access to school facilities. She urged the district to make school gyms, cafeterias and other spaces accessible for community trainings and events and to provide information in Spanish.
Miguel (last name in transcript) said simultaneous interpretation was not consistently available at the meeting and urged the district to adopt available technology for real‑time interpretation so Spanish‑speaking audience members can follow conversation. “We're still in the same situation that we've been where we don't have full language access,” he said.
Speakers also raised concerns about mental‑health supports and fear of immigration enforcement. Miguel identified ICE and mental health as the district’s biggest safety issues for his community and asked the board to work with families and community partners to co‑create supports within two weeks.
Several commenters asked the district to examine licensure pathways for immigrant teachers. Board Member Jose asked the superintendent to look into recommendations supporting immigrant teachers regarding licensure pathways and to bring proposals back to the board.
District staff and some board members said interpretation and translation services were provided at recent events: Vice President Noble noted a recent Community Safety Forum had sign language interpretation and simultaneous translation for Spanish speakers. The transcript shows attendees and some board members both praised accessible elements of that forum and criticized situations where interpretation was absent or limited.
Why it matters: Language access affects family engagement, due‑process for complaints and the ability of non‑English speakers to participate in school decision‑making. Barriers to teacher hiring for immigrant educators can reduce the pool of bilingual teachers serving students who speak languages other than English.
Next steps: Board Member Jose requested that the superintendent return with recommendations to support immigrant teachers and licensure pathways; Miguel asked the board to co‑create a plan with community members within two weeks, but the district did not record a formal two‑week commitment in the Sept. 25 minutes.
