The Cherry Creek School District settled a federal investigation into allegations that parents with limited English skills couldn’t fully participate in their children’s education because the district didn’t provide adequate translation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado received multiple complaints over the last three years that parents in the 52,000-student metro Denver district couldn’t take part in school programs and activities because Cherry Creek failed to provide “effective language assistance services,” according to an announcement of the settlement.
Federal investigators concluded Cherry Creek fell short in identifying parents who needed language assistance, did not provide them with adequate enrollment information and didn’t provide essential information in a language they could understand.
The 17-page settlement agreement, signed Wednesday, lays out detailed requirements for how the school district must translate essential information, from student handbooks to disciplinary documents, into parents’ preferred language.
More than 150 languages are spoken by parents of children in Cherry Creek schools, the Justice Department said.
Click here to read the full story from our partners at The Denver Post.
