Seven Members of Deaf Community Request ASL Interpreters at Council Meetings
“American Sign Language Interpretation” by Joshua B is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
Seven people with deafness have penned a letter to Interim City Manager Mike Malone requesting sign language interpreting at city council meetings, according to ASL advocate Anna Bergman.
Bergman posted the letter on Twitter; the residents cite the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. According to Bergman, none of the signers want to talk to the press.
The ADA is explicit about city government making accommodations for people with communication disabilities. State and local governments, referred to as “title II entities,” are required to make communication with people with disabilities as “equally effective” as communication with people without disabilities.
“Covered entities must provide auxiliary aids and services when needed to communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities,” the ADA reads. “For people who are deaf, have hearing loss, or are deaf-blind, this includes providing a qualified notetaker; a qualified sign language interpreter, oral interpreter, cued-speech interpreter, or tactile interpreter; real-time captioning; written materials, or a printed script of a stock speech.”
However, the ADA also says that when an aid or service “would result in undue financial and administrative burdens,” cost can be taken into consideration. The attestation that a government entity cannot afford the service must be made by a department head, ergo, Mike Malone.
Mayor Robert McConnell addressed this issue after Bergman called into the community forum section of a council meeting and requested interpreters. McConnell cited a lack of funding for such, but suggested that the City find a volunteer ASL interpreter.
McConnell’s suggestion is problematic. First, ASL interpreters are professionals who generally do not work for free. Second, professional interpreters usually trade off between two people in order to provide breaks; asking one person to interpret a five hour council meeting is asking a lot of a person, especially if they are unpaid.
The ADA is an unfunded mandate. As such, in order to get people to comply it often requires a lawsuit.
The text in the ADA mentions qualified note takers. Technology has finally caught up with transcription, as I myself can attest after years of painstakingly doing my own transcription from recordings. Many apps do a wonderful job transforming recorded words to the page. Yes, it still requires someone to fix any hiccups, but for the most part they do a great job. It’s not clear if the ADA requires real-time interpreting or transcription, though the law does require that people with disabilities have “equally effective” communication.
This story will be updated when and if I hear back from Mike Malone and the mayor. I’ve also reached out to the deaf community for comment.
