Language Access - Lake Washington School District

Language access is a right

Every parent has the right to receive information about their child’s education in a language they can understand. When your child starts school, you will be asked which language you prefer for communication. This allows the school to understand your language needs and offer interpretation services or translated materials at no cost to you.

Lake Washington School District is home to families with origins from around the globe. With hundreds of languages spoken in the homes of our students, communication between school and home can easily become a barrier that inhibits the necessary partnership between guardian and educator to support the needs of the child. This information is here to help break through that barrier and guide our families to the resources they need to have successful communication with the district.

Language access rights information

LWSD's Language Access Policy (4218) is our commitment to fostering meaningful two-way communication with our culturally and linguistically diverse families and students, ensuring they have full access to our programs or services.

Types of services & how to request

Language Access supports the communication between families who don’t speak English as their first language and LWSD staff members by providing interpretation and translation services at no cost in the following formats:

In-person interpreting

Telephone interpreting

Telephone interpreting may be used in place of on-site interpreting in some cases, especially in the case of emergency requests, when need for an interpreter arises unexpectedly or when no on-site interpreter is readily available at the location where services are needed. This type of interpretation is a three-way call and requires an LWSD staff member on the other side of the line. Interpreters (including those on a phone) are the vehicles of communication, not the source of information. They interpret the words they are asked to interpret, and ensure that the original source message is faithfully rendered into the target language.

Document translation

How to request

Parents and guardians can access language services in the following ways:

Interpreting services

By phone: Parents/guardians can call their school and ask for an interpreter. The staff will put them on hold and connect an interpreter using our on-demand over-the-phone interpreting services or they will call the parent back through our LWSD interpreters.
In person: When parents/guardians come into a school building, they can point to their preferred language on the language poster found at the entrance of every school office. The school staff will connect an on-demand interpreter over-the-phone. Pocketalk devices can also be used for basic communication needs.
Email: Parents can request interpretation services by sending an email to their student’s teacher or principal for a scheduled meeting or event.

Translation services

Document translation: Parents/guardians may request documents translated into their preferred language by contacting their student’s school.
ParentSquare: Parents/guardians are encouraged to download the ParentSquare app on their mobile device and register to receive communication from the district and the school in their preferred language.

A minimum of five business days is needed to fill out most requests; some lower-incidence languages may require more time to arrange.

When to use services

Here are just a few examples when interpretation and translation services may be helpful:

Enrolling in school
Parent-teacher conferences
Grades, academic standards and graduation
School rules and student discipline
Attendance, absences and withdrawal
Parent permission for activities or programs
Health, safety and emergencies
School closures
Opportunities to access programs or services - including highly capable, advanced placement and English language learner programs
Special education and services for students with disabilities

District communication tools that have built-in translation capability:

ParentSquare
Skyward
School and district websites

Concerns and complaints

If you have concerns about the school’s interpretation or translation services – or if you were not offered an interpreter or translation you needed, you have several options:

Talk with your principal or a school employee you are comfortable with. A discussion with your school principal is often the best first step to address your concerns. Explain what happened, and let the principal know what they can do to help resolve the problem.
Talk with your school district. You can also contact the Lake Washington School District’s Civil Rights Compliance officer Kraig Michels at civilrights@lwsd.org to share your concerns.
Ask for help resolving your concerns. You can also contact the agencies below for more information about your rights or for assistance to resolve your concerns.
- Equity and Civil Rights Office
  Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
  360-725-6162 | k12.wa.us/equity
- Office of the Education Ombuds
  1-866-297-2597 | oeo.wa.gov

We want your feedback!

Please complete this short survey to share your experience with interpretation services offered by the Lake Washington School District (LWSD). This survey will help us improve our Language Access Services: https://forms.office.com/r/Pr1Vp84eN9.

Contact Us

If you are in need of language access services, please first contact your school.

If they are unable to help or direct you to the district office, please reach out to:

Virginia Ramirez Romero
425-936-1355
vramirezromero@lwsd.org