The National Health Law Program has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties contending that federal, state, and local agencies are failing to provide individuals with…
More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals across America are still struggling with a lack of access to information on public health measures and vaccination efforts. The state of Virginia is working to combat this gap in accessibility by launching an American Sign Language (ASL) video call center for residents…
Native American communities will be receiving a big boost in the most recent COVID-19 relief bill—according to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, this bill includes the largest federal investment in Native American communities in the country’s entire history, with $31.2 billion devoted to funding Tribal governments and their communities. The bill includes a $20…
Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) has introduced a new version of the Coronavirus Language Access Act to the House, according to a press release from Meng’s office. An earlier version of the act was introduced to the Senate in August 2020, however it did not receive a vote before the previous Congress ended. “COVID-19 continues to…
A recently published study is stressing the necessity of accessible multilingual information on public health during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The research—published in JAMA Network Open, a journal of the American Medical Association—underscores the various social and demographic factors associated with higher incidence and death rates of COVID-19, such as limited English proficiency, race and…
A recently published study is stressing the necessity of accessible multilingual information on public health during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The research—published in JAMA Network Open, a journal of the American Medical Association—underscores the various social and demographic factors associated with higher incidence and death rates of COVID-19, such as limited English proficiency, race and…
Next weekend, the Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center (Tech Center) in the College of Arts, Languages & Letters at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will be hosting its own virtual version of the popular TV show Shark Tank, in which five first-time entrepreneurs will be vying to create the best new product to fill…
A number of advocacy groups have called on President-elect Joe Biden’s education transition team to amend the requirements for the in-person WIDA Access exam for English Language Learners. The request comes due to the potential risks associated with such gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic. “No student should be forced to choose between their health and…
America-jin desuka? Nai, Africa-jin desu. Back in 2009, as I sat at a train station in Kobe, Japan, waiting for my train, a young boy aged about six traveling with his mother sat next to me and asked if I was American. I replied no, that I am African. He said I wasn’t African and…
As the United States has begun distributing the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against Covid-19, communities across the country have grappled with fairly and effectively administering the vaccine to vulnerable sectors of the population. For the Cherokee Nation in eastern Oklahoma, the Covid-19 vaccines aren’t merely a means of beating the virus. As the community works…