Field notes.

April 30, 2026

7 min read

Qualified translator vs. bilingual reviewer: what IDEA actually requires.

The terminology matters. A bilingual reviewer for a Mandarin IEP isn't bilingual English-Spanish, and IDEA doesn't ask for one anyway. Here's what the regulation actually says, and what it means for the people writing district policy.

April 23, 2026

6 min read

Title VI 'essential documents': a New Jersey district translation checklist.

Which documents have to be translated, in which languages, on what timeline. The 2015 OCR/DOJ joint guidance gave districts a framework. Here's how it lands in NJ practice — and where IDEA layers on top.

April 15, 2026

5 min read

Sight translation in IEP meetings: when it works, when it doesn't.

Thirty minutes before the meeting, the evaluation isn't translated. The temptation is to ask the interpreter to read it on the fly. Here's when that's defensible, when it isn't, and what to do instead.