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Office of Language Access outlines free translation and interpretation services for District 25 families
Summary
Robert Williams of the NYC Schools Office of Language Access described how families can request interpretation, translation and submit feedback; he explained available languages, forms, complaint procedures and community outreach channels.
Robert Williams, external outreach specialist at the New York City Department of Education Office of Language Access (OLA), told District 25 parents that OLA provides free translation and interpretation services for families whose preferred language is other than English.
"The office of language access is dedicated to supporting both New York City Public School staff and families by providing the resources necessary for effective communication in languages other than English," Williams said, describing services for in‑person, virtual and telephone interpretation and written translation for commonly used documents.
Williams said the district covers ten top languages citywide — Arabic, Bangla, Cantonese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu — and that written translations are available in both traditional and simplified Chinese. He added that the OLA translation team handles written translations for the top ten languages and works with contracted vendors for additional languages; the interpretation team works with contractors for in‑person, virtual and phone interpretation.
He explained how families can use the schools.nyc.gov site: a Google dropdown on the site provides automatic translations, and OLA’s parent‑facing pages include a "request language services" translation/interpretation form available in the covered languages and a "contact OLA" form. Williams said parents should first contact their school; if a parent uses the OLA request form, OLA staff will notify the principal, parent coordinator and the school’s language access coordinator and expect the school to contact the parent within five to seven business days. If the school does not respond, Williams said he escalates the matter to the superintendent.
Williams described additional resources: an OLA brochure parents can print and return to schools (including a fill‑in line to name an unlisted language), QR codes to access forms, a translation and interpretation feedback survey, and guidance for sign language interpretation (handled by a separate office at oslis@schools.nyc.gov). He said parents can also call 311 for phone interpretation in over 200 languages and file a formal complaint to the district if they are having difficulties obtaining services.
Williams said OLA engages in outreach — posters, postcards, MTA ads, robocalls, texts and community tabling — and works with parent leaders and advocates to identify local needs. He offered to attend school events and table at community fairs to share printed resources and QR codes.
There were no formal actions taken during the presentation; parents thanked Williams and asked about school outreach and materials distribution.
