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Stillwater Area Public Schools approves districtwide language-access plan
Summary
The board approved a plan to expand language access across district buildings, including translatable website materials, two-way text messaging, new signage and staff training. The plan centralizes family-facing interpretation resources and names a staff contact for Civil Rights complaints.
Stillwater Area Public Schools approved a new districtwide language-access plan that officials said will make interpretation and translated materials easier for families to find and use.
District staff outlined components of the plan, including translated emails and newsletters, a fully translatable website, two-way text messaging that delivers messages in families' preferred languages and returns replies to staff in English, and new posters and signage in school buildings showing how to request interpretation. Staff said the rollout includes training for all staff beginning next week and a series of community engagement nights aimed at showing families how to use district systems such as PowerSchool.
The plan, which Superintendent Funk introduced during the meeting as a staff initiative to better organize existing services, names Jacqueline Bayless as an internal contact for families who believe language has created an access barrier. Officials cited the Civil Rights Act in describing the district's legal obligation to provide language access when it is required for meaningful participation.
District presenters described pilots already under way: two-way texting that allows a teacher to send an English message and a parent to receive and reply in Portuguese or Somali, and use of third-party translation services and tools to translate newsletters and other district communications. Staff also said family engagement specialists stationed in district buildings not only speak families' languages but also help families navigate cultural and system barriers.
A board member moved to approve the plan during the meeting; another board member seconded the motion and the board voted unanimously to adopt it.
District officials said the plan is a living document and will change as staff receive family feedback and as new translation tools become available. Training for building principals and staff will begin next week and the district will share materials through its handbook and at fall community engagement events.
