Translation Human Review

This content does not constitute legal advice. SameGoal provides this information in good faith; however, we make no representation or warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of this information. LEAs should seek appropriate legal counsel when establishing translation policies.

Translation Qualified Human Review link

• In January 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education jointly issued a "Dear Colleague" letter which stated in part:

Some school districts have used web-based automated translation to translate documents. Utilization of such services is appropriate only if the translated document accurately conveys the meaning of the source document, including accurately translating technical vocabulary. The Departments caution against the use of web-based automated translations; translations that are inaccurate are inconsistent with the school district's obligation to communicate effectively with LEP parents. Thus, to ensure that essential information has been accurately translated and conveys the meaning of the source document, the school district would need to have a machine translation reviewed, and edited as needed, by an individual qualified to do so. Additionally, the confidentiality of documents may be lost when documents are uploaded without sufficient controls to a web-based translation service and stored in their databases. School districts using any web-based automated translation services for documents containing personally identifiable information from a student's education record must ensure that disclosure to the web-based service complies with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b), and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 99.

• In August 2025, a note was added rescinding the "Dear Colleague" letter:

RESCINDED: THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN FORMALLY RESCINDED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND REMAINS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSES ONLY.

• SameGoal sought the legal opinion of a law firm which states in part:

In sum, LEAs are still obligated to ensure that essential information has been accurately translated to English learners, multilingual students, and their families. That obligation, based upon existing statutes and regulations, court cases, and other governmental guidance, requires that machine-translated documents be reviewed and edited by an individual qualified to do so. SameGoal should ensure that its systems are designed to help LEAs fulfill this requirement.

• As such, when machine translation is enabled by an LEA administrator SameGoal's platform requires human review of translations.