ProGov21 Policy Library

2015 Chicago Language Access Ordinance

Type Ordinance

Year 2015

Level City or Town

State(s) Illinois

Source Chicago City Council

Policy Areas Civil Rights

This ordinance requires all city departments that provide direct public services to ensure meaningful access to such services for limited-English proficiency (LEP) persons by developing and implementing department-specific language access plans. While each city department has flexibility...

2012 Model New Orleans Language Access Ordinance

Type Model Law

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) Louisiana

Source City of New Orleans

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance

The model ordinance centralizes the responsibility for promoting language access in city government in the Office of Neighborhood Engagement (ONE). The ordinance grants ONE increased funds to implement plans to hire multilingual employees. It also appoints ONE to collect the language-access...

Long Beach Resolution Promoting Language Accessibility

Type Ordinance

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source City of Long Beach

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Community Development

This resolution delineates requirements for Long Beach government efforts to increase language accessibility. According to this ordinance, all public contact positions shall have access to a directory of qualified bilingual staff; departments shall share employee translation and interpretation...

2009 San Francisco Ordinance 202 Language Access

Type Ordinance

Year 2009

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California

Source San Francisco Board of Supervisors

Policy Areas Civil Rights

This ordinance requires City Departments to translate the following written materials into languages spoken by a substantial number of limited English speaking persons: applications to receive benefits or services; tests for which knowledge of written English is not required; materials...

Access Denied: The Unfulfilled Promise of the D.C. Language Access Act

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2012

Level City or Town

State(s) Washington

Source Washington College of Law

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance

This report discusses D.C.'s failure to implement the D.C. Language Access Act. The D.C. Language Access Act was enacted to improve non-English proficient resident's access to translation and interpretation services at municipal entities. The report makes several recommendations to...

2001 San Francisco Ordinance 126 Improving Language Accessibility for City Servics

Type Ordinance

Year 2001

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California

Source San Francisco City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

The ordinance requires City Departments to offer written materials in languages besides English if a substantial or concentrated portion of the public utilizing their services does not speak English effectively because it is not their primary language....

2007 New York City Ordinance 596 Requiring the Department of Housing to Provide Language Assistance

Type Ordinance

Year 2007

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source The New York City Council

Policy Areas Community Development, Housing

The ordinance requires the department of housing preservation and development to provide free language assistance services to limited English proficient individuals. The department shall also translate all of its documents into the top nine languages other than English spoken by persons...

2001 Oakland Ordinance 12324 Improving Language Accessibility for City Services

Type Ordinance

Year 2001

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Oakland City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

The Ordinance requires city information and services be provided in every language that is represented by 10,000 people or more in the city; the hiring of bilingual staff in public contact positions; establishes an in-house translation service for written government materials and...

Understanding Many Languages: Preparing Early Educators to Teach Dual Language Learners

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Policy Areas Children & Families, Education

The population of children served in early care and education (ECE) settings is culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse and becoming more so. As a result, early childhood professionals must be prepared to work with young children from a variety of backgrounds and family settings,...

City of Saint Paul: Limited English Proficiency Plan

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) Minnesota

Source City of Saint Paul

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice, Civil Rights

One in five City of Saint Paul (City) residents speaks a language other than English in their homes. This means that increasingly City employees are providing services to individuals who may be limited English proficient (LEP). This Limited English Proficiency Plan outlines and describes...

Model Resolution for Protecting Immigrant Students

Type Model Law

Year 2016

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source American Civil Liberties Union of California

Policy Areas Children & Families, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Housing, Public Safety, Education

The attached Model Campus Safe Zones Resolution language was developed for K-12 school districts that are contemplating adopting protections for their immigrant students. ACLU recommends that any resolution contain language to address these critical issues: limiting the sharing of...

Access Denied: Making the MTA Subway System Accessible to All New Yorkers

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) New York

Source Transit Center

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility

Thousands of New Yorkers require elevators to access the subway every day: people with disabilities, parents pushing strollers, travelers carrying luggage, and residents suffering from an injury. However, only 23% of the city’s subway stations have elevators. These elevators break...

Measuring Accessibility: A Guide for Transportation and Land Use Practitioners

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source State Smart Transportation Initiative

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility

Developing and tracking accessibility metrics has many practical advantages, such as measuring how readily commuters can meet their needs and providing a common measure for assessing various transportation modes and modal investments. This guide addresses the need for accessibility...

Connecting Sacramento: A Trip-Making and Accessibility Study

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level State

State(s) California

Source State Smart Transportation Initiative

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility

As opposed to conventional data and metrics, this report uses newer data sources and more advanced analytic tools to study Sacramento’s transportation system. In particular, this report utilizes accessibility metrics to identify locations with poor connections to existing transit,...

Accessibility in Practice: A Guide for Transportation and Land Use Decision Making

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source State Smart Transportation Initiative

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility

This report guides planning agencies and transportation decision makers in measuring accessibility and incorporating those metrics into decision making by outlining general concepts, data needs and availability, analysis tools, and other considerations in measuring accessibility....

2022 Milwaukee Ordinance 220190 Accessible Entrances

Type Ordinance

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source 2022

Policy Areas Public Spaces

This ordinance requires buildings built before the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide encroachments (i.e. ramps, chairlifts, or other structures) to create accessible entrances for persons with disabilities....

Health Impact Assessments: A Tool to Focus on the Health Effects of Park Access

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Policy Areas Public Safety, Transportation & Mobility

Health impact assessments are a useful tool to help make the case for the many benefits of safe routes and park access. Decisionmakers often want data to help weigh costs and benefits of a change. This factsheet can help advocates engage stakeholders and gather data in support of...

Getting a Sanctuary City Resolution Passed/ Sample Resolution Language

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2019

Level Other Boards and Agencies

State(s) All States

Source Institute for Policy Studies

Policy Areas Education

This document includes a sample of resolution language along with a list of links to resolutions that have been passed in cities across the country....

All-Ages Access: Making Transit Work for Everyone in America’s Rapidly Aging Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Transit Center

Policy Areas Transportation & Mobility, Data & Technology

Transit can be especially important for older individuals, who “age out” of driving as their mobility, vision, and hearing decline. However, public transit can be difficult for older people to navigate, and is unreliable or insufficient for many trips in most U.S. cities. To address...

2005 California Model Accessible Buildings Ordinance

Type Model Law

Year 2005

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source California Department Of Housing And Community Development

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Housing, Public Safety

This model establishes accessibility requirements for new construction and substantial rehabilitations for individuals with physical disabilities; and provides for exemptions from compliance where it would result in undue hardship, where the construction is a result of a natural disaster,...

Community Wireless Networks: Cutting Edge Technology for Internet Access

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2006

Level State

State(s) Illinois

Source Center for Neighborhood Technology

Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Data & Technology

Wireless community networks can be an effective strategy for addressing the digital divide. They can offer affordable access to the Internet while building community and strengthening the local economy. In an age when access to the Internet is increasingly a condition for full participation...

Increasing Access to Essential Health Functions: The Role of Transportation in Improving America’s Health

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, National, State

State(s) All States

Source Eno Center for Transportation

Policy Areas Health, Transportation & Mobility

This paper outlines the ways in which transportation, health, and healthcare are interrelated. In particular, it describes how a lack of access to transportation can cause poor health outcomes and high healthcare costs. To mitigate this challenge, this report calls on public agencies...

All Hands on Deck: Minnesota Local Government Models for Expanding Fiber Internet Access

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2014

Level City or Town, County

State(s) Minnesota

Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Policy Areas Data & Technology

In 2010 the Minnesota legislature set a goal of having universal Internet access across the state with download speeds of 10-20 Mbps and upload speeds of 5-10 Mbps no later than 2015. As of 2014, Minnesota is not on track to meet these goals, because internet access varies significantly...

Toward Universal Access: A Case Study in the Los Angeles and Puget Sound Regions

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County

State(s) California, Washington

Source Eno Center for Transportation

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Transportation & Mobility

Mobility on demand (MOD) refers to transportation services that can be hailed in real-time for an impending trip. The largest MOD project funded by the Federal Transit Administration is a two-region partnership between Los Angeles and the Puget Sound Region that provides first/last...

Most State Unemployment Websites Fail Mobile and Accessibility Tests

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State, National

State(s) All States

Source Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Policy Areas Data & Technology

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of workers have applied for unemployment benefits online, only to be met with a crashed webpage. To better gauge the overall functionality of state unemployment websites, ITIF tested the page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and accessibility...

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