IDEA
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that public schools provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to children with disabilities. For language services, IDEA requires that schools communicate Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 plans, and procedural safeguards to parents 'in their native language, unless clearly not feasible to do so.'
In practice, this means schools must provide qualified interpretation for IEP meetings, 504 hearings, evaluation discussions, and behavioral plan meetings — using interpreters trained in special-education vocabulary. Generic interpreters (without IEP-specific training) miss the distinction between accommodations and modifications, related services categories, and procedural safeguards — leading to invalidated IEPs and parent grievances.
IDEA also requires translated written communications: parent notices, procedural safeguards, evaluation reports, IEP documents, and progress reports. Districts often partner with specialized translation vendors to maintain consistency in IEP terminology across documents and revisions.