[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49214-49215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23991]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION


National Historical Publications and Records Commission; Services 
for Persons With Limited English Proficiency; Comment Request

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is 
publishing policy guidance on Title VI's prohibition against national 
origin discrimination under any program or activity that receives NARA 
financial assistance through the National Historical Publication and 
Records Commission (NHPRC) as such policy affects persons with limited 
English proficiency (LEP). The public is invited to comment on NHPRC-
assisted programs and activities available to persons with LEP and on 
steps that NHPRC could take to ensure that persons with LEP have 
meaningful access to such services. NHPRC will use the information 
gathered from this notice and other outreach efforts to improve its 
plan to improve access to these programs and activities by eligible LEP 
persons.

DATES: This guidance is effective immediately. Written comments must be 
submitted on or before November 26, 2001. NARA will review all comments 
and determine whether modifications to the policy guidance are 
necessary.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should submit written comments to: 
Comments on Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, 
ATTN: Diane Dimkoff (NWCC), Room 2400, National Archives and Records 
Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001; or 
faxed to 301-713-7482. You may also comment via the Internet to 
[[email protected]]. Please submit Internet comments within the body of 
your email message or attach comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use 
of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include 
``Attn: Limited English Proficiency'' and your name and return address 
in your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the 
system that we have received your Internet message, contact Diane 
Dimkoff at 301-713-6107.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Diane Dimkoff by telephone, or by fax at 301-713-
7482. Arrangements to receive the policy in an alternative format may 
be made by contacting the named individual.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 
U.S.C. 2000d, et seq. and its implementing regulations provide that no 
person shall, on the basis of race, color, or national origin, be 
denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or be 
subject to discrimination under any program or activity that receives 
federal financial assistance.
    The purposes of this policy guidance are to clarify the 
responsibilities of recipients of federal financial assistance from 
NARA's National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and to 
assist them in fulfilling their responsibilities to persons with 
limited English proficiency, pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations.

    Dated: September 18, 2001.
John W. Carlin,
Archivist of the United States.

Guidance to Recipients of the National Historical Publications and 
Records Commission Federal Financial Assistance: Providing 
Meaningful Access to Individuals With Limited English Proficiency 
(``LEP Guidance For NHPRC Recipients'')

I. Introduction

    This guidance is based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 
42 U.S.C. 2000d, et seq., and regulations that implement Title VI. 
Title VI was intended to eliminate barriers based on race, color, and 
national origin in Federally-assisted programs or activities. In 
certain circumstances, failing to ensure that persons with LEP can 
effectively participate in or benefit from Federally-assisted programs 
and activities or imposing additional burdens on persons with LEP 
constitutes national origin discrimination.
    In August, 2000, the President signed Executive Order 13166, 
Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English 
Proficiency. Under that Executive Order, every Federal agency that 
provides financial assistance to non-Federal entities must issue 
guidance on how their recipients can, consistent with long-standing 
obligations under Title VI and their fundamental mission, provide 
reasonable, yet meaningful access to persons with LEP.
    The essence of the meaningful access requirement is 
``reasonableness.'' In some circumstances, a NHPRC recipient directly 
serving significant numbers of LEP persons may be obligated to provide 
language assistance services, including, as appropriate, written 
translations of documents, procedures and/or forms critical to 
accessing NHPRC-supported archives. In many other circumstances, 
however, NHPRC recipients will have little or no obligation to provide 
language services beyond those many already provide.
    This does not mean, however, that the four-factor analysis set out 
in this Guidance should be read as limiting recipient discretion to 
provide language assistance services in an effort to broaden its 
services to the communities it serves. Recipients are encouraged to 
exercise their flexibility under this Guidance to beyond mere minimal 
compliance and to create model programs for LEP access.
    As required under Executive Order 13166 and the companion DOJ LEP 
Guidance issued in August, 2000,

[[Page 49215]]

recipients should apply a four-factor test to decide what steps are 
necessary and reasonable to provide meaningful access to their programs 
and activities for persons with LEP. Once the recipient has identified 
what language services, if any, are reasonable, the recipient should 
prepare a written policy on language assistance for persons with LEP 
(an ``LEP policy''). This plan need not be intricate. It may be as 
simple as being prepared to use one of the commercially available 
language lines to obtain interpreter services.

II. The Four-Factor Analysis

    ``Reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access'' will vary 
depending on a number of factors. NHPRC recipients should apply the 
following four factors to the various contacts that they have with the 
public to decide what reasonable steps they should take to ensure 
meaningful access for persons with LEP. This balancing test preserves 
recipient management discretion and flexibility in determining how to 
best address the language needs of the LEP communities when deciding 
what documents to translate, and when oral translation is necessary.
A. The Number or Proportion of LEP Persons Served or Encountered in the 
Eligible Service Population
    One factor in determining what language services recipients should 
provide is the number or proportion of persons with LEP eligible to be 
served or encountered by the recipient in carrying out its operations. 
The greater the number or proportion of persons with LEP, the more 
likely language services are needed.
B. The Frequency With Which LEP Individuals Come in Contact With the 
Program
    Recipients should assess, in some fashion, the frequency with which 
they have contact with LEP language groups. The more frequent the 
contact, the more likely that language services are needed. The steps 
that are reasonable for a recipient that serves one person with LEP a 
year may be very different from those expected from a recipient that 
serves several persons with LEP each day. For instance, a NHPRC-
supported project to arrange and describe a collection consisting 
primarily of documents originally created in the Spanish language could 
provide finding aids that are linguistically accessible for Spanish 
persons with LEP.
C. The Nature and Importance of the Program, Activity, or Service 
Provided by the Program
    The more important the activity, information, service, or program, 
or the greater the possible consequences of the contact to the LEP 
individuals, the more likely language services are needed. A recipient 
should determine if a denial or delay of access to services or 
information could have serious implications for the LEP individual. 
This factor weighs heavily in favor of providing language services in 
situations where the failure to provide such services could have an 
adverse effect on health, safety, economic security, and other critical 
areas. Typically, recipients of NHPRC funds provide significant 
cultural and societal services but such services do not rise to the 
same level of importance as do the previously mentioned critical areas. 
In such circumstances, the resources available to the recipient and the 
cost of providing the services will weigh more heavily in considering 
what, if any, language services to provide to frequently encountered 
LEP language groups.
D. The Resources Available to the Recipient
    A recipient's level of resources may have an impact on the nature 
of the steps it should take. Smaller recipient entities with more 
limited budgets are not expected to provide the same level of language 
services as larger recipient entities with larger budgets. However, 
such small recipients should still consider what language services are 
needed and what they are able to provide. Resource issues can sometimes 
be minimized by technological advances and sharing of resources and 
translations.

III. Application of the Four Factors to NHPRC Recipients

    NHPRC recipients include, but are not limited to state, county, and 
local historical societies and archives; universities; colleges; and 
libraries. All aspects of a program or activity that receives NHPRC 
assistance are covered by Title VI. Thus, recipient activities vary 
widely and the results of the application of the four factors varies as 
well.
    NHPRC recipients' Title VI obligations in many cases will be 
satisfied by making available oral language assistance or commissioning 
translations on an as-needed basis. There are many circumstances where, 
after an application and balancing of the four factors noted above, 
Title VI would not require translation at all. For instance, based on a 
typical application of the nature and importance of the activity to 
persons with LEP and the resources available, Title VI does not require 
an archivist to translate archived collections, but it does require the 
implementation of appropriate language assistance measures to permit a 
person with LEP to have access to publicly accessible archives.

IV. Legal Background

    Further legal background for this guidance can be found in the 
Department of Justice Policy Guidance document, titled ``Enforcement of 
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964--National Origin 
Discrimination Against Persons With Limited English Proficiency Policy 
Guidance'', reprinted at 65 FR 50123 (August 16, 2000).

[FR Doc. 01-23991 Filed 9-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P