Houston, Texas (KTRK) – Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the state, and now the Houston Independent School District, the state’s largest school district, works to reach every student and parent.
The video above is from the 24/7 live broadcast on ABC13.
Data from HISD officials shows that 62% of the students are Hispanic, and many speak a different language at home.
As the new school year begins at ISD in Houston, changes are being made toward more inclusion.
American Sign Language interpreters and Spanish interpreters are provided for the first time in the region to make school board meetings more accessible to families across our region.
“It was supposed to happen a long time ago,” said Judith Cruz, chair of the HISD Board of Trustees.
Cruz is one of the reasons we see changes in the region.
“I hope that not only does having this interpretation allow access, but that it actually creates a way to defend a parental voice that has been for a long time — they didn’t have a voice in this area because they speak another language,” Cruz said.
Max Moll, the school district’s chief engagement officer, told ABC13 that the program is being launched thanks to federal funds. He said the translators were not employed in the area. Instead, they were hired. Mall says this is a step in the right direction to provide more transparency as a region.
“I think it has created an obstacle for a lot of families to engage in not being able to understand what is being said or done just because the language is not accessible to them,” Moll said.
But why now?
“This should have happened already a long time ago,” Cruz said. “It was something we talked about in 2020, and because we’ve been reconsidering policy on board meetings, it was kind of the perfect time to make that adjustment.”
The focus is that the software is here now and they are looking to further develop it in a matter of weeks to come with written captions and a Spanish news channel.
The hope of the region’s leaders is to eventually expand access to other languages down the line based on the demands of families in our community.
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