King County Metro staff presented a new language equity program to the Regional Transit Committee on Sept. 17, outlining work to standardize language access across the agency and ensure people with limited English proficiency can use Metro services.

"Language equity is about providing equal access to information and services, for people for whom English is not their first language," Tristan Cook, Metro's supervisor of community engagement, told the committee. Metro staff said the program sits in the General Manager's office and partnerships and engagement team and aims to centralize policy, guidance and resources for translation, interpretation and plain-language work.

Metro described accomplishments to date: a draft departmental language equity policy; a language-equity portal on SharePoint with step-by-step guidance; partnerships with LanguageLine for live interpretation; plain-language reviews of operator training materials; and a cross-department Language Equity Champions group formed in 2023. Tava Rocha, a community engagement planner, said the program has five champion recommendations: (1) formalize policies, procedures and training; (2) identify priority languages by geography; (3) translate vital documents (emergency alerts, public feedback forms) into the top 10 county languages and other local needs; (4) inform the public about available services; and (5) standardize translation and interpretation procurement and practices.

Staff described next steps including hiring a dedicated language-equity lead (position currently vacant), finalizing the Metro language equity policy, developing staff trainings in plain language and interpretation best practices, aligning with ADA and universal access, and tracking outcomes and costs to guide future investments. The presentation emphasized that nearly 30% of King County residents age 5 and older primarily speak a language other than English and that county guidance from the Office of Race and Equity and Social Justice informs Metro's approach.

Committee members asked how Metro will target languages geographically and how the agency will measure success. Cook and Rocha said staff will use census and community-based-organization data to identify language needs at the neighborhood level while maintaining a countywide list of priority languages. They said metrics will include both quantitative tracking and qualitative feedback from community-based partners.

Metro staff declined to promise universal translation of every notice into all county languages but said the program will prioritize vital documents and target languages by geography and community need. Committee members and presenters discussed opportunities to coordinate with other county departments and cities to share practices and avoid duplication. Metro staff said they will continue to report back to the committee as the program is implemented.

Ending note: Staff encouraged jurisdictions to share local language needs and said Metro would pursue partnerships with cities and community organizations as it phases in the program.