District to pilot low‑cost automated translation for board meetings, keeping live interpreters for IEPs
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Summary
Staff proposed piloting an automated meeting-interpretation platform that costs roughly $4–$5/month (annual rate) as a supplement to live interpreters; trustees supported a short pilot with best‑practice training for speakers and retention of live interpreters for IEPs and sensitive meetings.
The board discussed a proposal to pilot an automated interpretation and captioning service for public meetings as a cost‑saving alternative to live interpreters. Staff said the district currently averages roughly $800 per month on interpretation for board meetings and is testing a low‑cost service that offers screen captioning and 35 languages for about $4.17 per month with an annual subscription.
Staff emphasized that live interpreters will continue to be used for IEPs, student and family meetings and other situations where full interpretation accuracy and certified services are required. Trustees raised concerns about technical accuracy, acronyms and fast speech, and asked for a best‑practices training for board members and cabinet so that automated translation performs reliably. One trustee noted the service's limits for slang and technical language but supported a limited pilot.
The board agreed to trial the platform for a few months, ask staff to solicit user feedback from the public, and return to the board with a recommendation about longer‑term use and any required live‑interpreter exceptions.
Next steps: Staff to pilot the service, schedule training on speaking and acronyms, check whether additional languages (e.g., Haitian Creole) can be added, and report findings to the board.