(a) Title. This Chapter 91 shall be known as the "Language Access Ordinance."
(b) Findings.
(1) The City and County of San Francisco (“the City”) seeks to ensure a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment where every person, regardless of immigration status or language spoken can readily access information about City services and programs.
(2) San Francisco provides an array of services and information that can be made accessible to persons who are not proficient in the English language, or for whom English is not their primary language..1
The City of San Francisco is committed to providing equal access to information about City services and programs by providing language access services, including language interpretation and written translations..1
(3) Despite a long history of commitment to language access as embodied in federal, state, and local law, beginning with the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, there is a still a significant gap in providing governmental services and programs to Limited English Proficient (“LEP”) P1
.
(4) In 1973, the Legislature adopted the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act, which required certain state and local agencies to provide language services to LEP Persons whenever they serve a Substantial Number of Non-English Speaking People and to hire a sufficient number of bilingual staff.
(6) In 2001, in response to these findings, the City enacted the Equal Access to Services Ordinance, Ordinance No. 126-01, which required major departments to provide language access services to LEP Persons who comprise 5% or more of the total city population.
(7) In 2009, in Ordinance No. 202-09, the City enacted a number of significant changes to the ordinance, renaming it the Language Access Ordinance and assigning roles and responsibilities for implementation and compliance to the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (“OCEIA”) and the Immigrant Rights Commission. Since amendment of the Language Access Ordinance in 2009, City departments have made significant progress in providing language access services. However, as of 2023, significant gaps remain in language access consistency, quality, budgeting and implementation across departments.
(8) The COVID-19 pandemic and health emergency highlighted the barriers to language access services and inequities for many LEP Persons. The pandemic made it clear that City departments must prioritize language access services during health-related emergencies, disaster-related activities, and all other public safety crisis situations. A community-focused approach to language access services ensures that residents can receive information about City programs and services, including public service announcements, to effectively communicate with City agencies, policymakers, and elected officials.
(9) Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the City’s use of digital services, web-based content, and on-line mediums for providing information about City programs and services has increased. To meet the needs of City residents, the City’s language access services must also expand to those media to make them accessible to LEP Persons.
(10) In 2023, the Legislature amended the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act to require translation services in emergency situations, involving an immediate threat of serious harm or mass casualties, including conditions of natural disaster or conditions posing extreme peril to the safety of persons and property. The Legislature’s amendments were in response to critical incidents that severely impacted communities. In January 2023, mass shootings in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park impacted communities of color where English was not the primary language spoken and concerns were raised as to whether vital information was being effectively communicated. In March 2023, the broken levee in Monterey County flooded the entire town of Pajaro and forced more than 2,000 people to evacuate. Various news media documented the local agencies’ failure to provide language services to communicate vital information on safety and access to recovery with impacted communities. The Legislature’s amendments expanded the Act’s application to cover all languages spoken jointly by 5% or more of the population whenever 5% of those affected also speak English less than “very well.”
(11) Despite the City’s progress in providing language access services, as of 2024 there are still gaps in language services affecting the City’s ability to serve all of its residents and provide timely access to information to enable full participation in City services and programs.
(12) The United States Census Bureau’s 2018 - 2022 American Community Survey reveals that 33.9% of San Franciscans are foreign-born and 42.9% over the age of five can speak a language other than English at home.
(13) Historically, the City has offered language access services in three languages 1 Chinese, Spanish and Filipino. According to the 2018-2022 ACS, 18.9% of the total City population who self-identify as LEP Persons, 56.4% are Chinese speakers, 20.3% are Spanish speakers, 5% are Filipino speakers, 4.4% are Vietnamese speakers, and 3.16% are Russian speakers.
(14) While the City remains a national leader in language access, much remains to be done to continue fighting for full inclusion of our LEP community. The City must continue to make every effort to ensure City departments comply with the Language Access Ordinance and removes barriers to participation in City processes by increasing bilingual staffing levels and language services budgets; improving accessibility through continued digital and telephonic language services; and increasing language services planning and coordination for public health crises, disasters, and emergencies.
CODIFICATION NOTE
1. So in Ord. 116-24.