To create inclusive educational environments, states like Illinois have recently enacted new legislation to support non-English-speaking parents of children with learning disabilities. These laws ensure parents receive essential resources during critical meetings, such as Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings.
The legislation mandates that schools provide proper translation and interpretation, ensuring parents receive crucial information in their preferred language. This not only fosters greater parental involvement—proven to improve academic performance—but also enriches the overall educational experience for students with learning disabilities. However, this well-intentioned mandate presents potential challenges for schools with limited budgets.
The dilemma facing school districts
In our 29 years of working with various school districts, we have seen firsthand the financial strain these requirements place on administrators with limited resources. Translating IEPs, along with other vital documents, is costly due to their extensive legal nature, containing language that even native English speakers often find difficult to understand. Consequently, many schools find themselves in tough situations, often relying on internal employees who lack proper training or turning to tools like Google Translate and ChatGPT.
Considering the lack of resources, such options may appear reasonable, especially with recent advancements in machine translation (MT). While we do recommend standard MT for low-risk activities, such as research, gisting, survey results, etc., the situation becomes more complicated when it involves sensitive information contained in IEPs, such as students’ personal information, educational needs, and health details. Using open-source platforms with public APIs poses potential security risks, as these platforms can store and use your data to train their engines. Therefore, standard machine translation should be avoided for important documents.
Moreover, the updated legislation mandates that all translations be performed by "competent translators" who have received sufficient professional training in special education terminology and processes or by competent outside language service providers (LSPs). If a school district must use an automated translation program (i.e., machine translation), a qualified individual is required to review and edit the resulting translation for accuracy through a process known as machine translation post-editing (MTPE).
Navigating AI translation in education
This leads perfectly into our discussion on how schools can benefit from AI translation to adhere to new legislation while working with a limited budget. By integrating AI translation with professional post-editing, schools can boost their inclusion efforts by translating larger volumes of material into multiple languages. For educators unfamiliar with machine translation, understanding the new translation landscape, including MT, MTPE, and AI, is a great place to start. With many new terms floating around, it can be challenging to understand what everything means.
Here’s a quick overview of each term:
- MT: Standard machine translation is machine-generated text with no human involvement, suitable for low-risk content where speed is more important than accuracy.
- MTPE: Machine translation post-editing involves an editor reviewing the machine translation to ensure accuracy, grammatical correctness, proper style, and adherence to client/state guidelines.
- AI: AI translation is a more advanced version that uses sophisticated algorithms and neural networks to provide more accurate and efficient translations. These AI models learn from large amounts of data, continuously improving their accuracy over time.
For more in-depth details about AI translation, read our latest eBook, which outlines everything you should know about AI as a translation buyer in 2025.
Thanks to recent advancements, even school districts with limited budgets now have access to tailored solutions that meet their unique needs. Therefore, it's essential for schools to work closely with their LSPs to identify the best services for their specific translation needs and challenges. Now, let’s explore some of the most ROI-positive options available for school districts looking to enhance their translation efforts.
Custom AI models
Partnering with an LSP that specializes in education offers significant advantages, such as access to an extensive translation memory (TM) database that enhances AI capabilities. At Argo Translation, we reduce costs for schools by leveraging our comprehensive TM database and training private, custom AI models specifically for the education sector. This approach, combined with human post-editing, delivers substantial time and cost savings for schools.
Multi-content translation
AI translation can help schools by effectively translating a wide range of content. Some content types where AI translation can be particularly beneficial include:
- Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
- School policies
- Medical consent forms
- School newsletters and social media posts
These examples illustrate just a few of the many ways AI translation can support schools, highlighting its potential to streamline translation efforts and improve communication.
Real-time translation
Schools can also utilize live-chat translation tools for real-time communication with parents. These tools allow schools to generate text and audio files for informal communications, such as emailing parents about a child’s progress, in their preferred language.
Final thoughts
While there are many strategies schools can leverage to maximize their resources, the tools highlighted above are among the most effective for complying with new regulations, staying within budget, and enhancing inclusion efforts. By using custom AI models and post-editing, sensitive documents like IEPs can be managed with precision, offering a cost-effective alternative to traditional methods. Additionally, real-time translation tools can significantly improve communication with parents, fostering greater involvement and support. Implementing these solutions not only helps schools navigate the complexities of new regulations, but also enhances the educational experience for non-English-speaking families. By embracing AI-driven translation technologies, schools can create a more inclusive environment, empowering all students and families to actively participate in the educational community.
If you're interested in taking your school's translation efforts to the next level, explore our education AI engine. Designed specifically for educational institutions, it combines cutting-edge AI technology with expert post-editing to ensure accuracy, compliance, and efficiency. Discover how this innovative tool can help your school meet state guidelines while staying within budget.
