Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan

As a recipient of federal financial support, Iowa State University has a responsibility under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make reasonable efforts to ensure that individuals who have limited English proficiency have meaningful access to federally funded educational programs and activities.  A Limited English Proficiency (LEP) person is an individual who does not speak English as their primary language and who has limited ability to read, speak, write, and understand English.

Iowa State University is committed to affording and expanding meaningful access to federally funded educational programs and activities to eligible LEP persons. The University has taken reasonable steps in this Plan to ensure that individuals with LEP will be able to communicate, either through written or oral language services, with members of our faculty, staff, students, and volunteers.

If you are an individual with LEP and are in need of assistance in order to access the University’s educational programs, activities, and services, we invite you to engage with the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) to identify available resources related to free language assistance.  Please contact OEO via email at eooffice@iastate.edu or by calling 515-294-7612 to engage in a request for language services.

Individuals in need of language assistance to access the University’s educational programs, activities, and services will be referred to the appropriate resources on campus for further language assistance.  Additional external resources to identify language needs can be accessed and are available via the U.S. government LEP webpage.

Upon receiving a request for language assistance, the OEO will engage in an interactive process.  The purpose of this process will be to understand the needs of the individual with LEP and, based on the circumstances, to identify any available resources and reasonable assistance measures.  These free resources may include, but are not limited to, translation services, either oral or written, and in-person or telephonic interpretation.  Interpretation assistance may be provided by qualified interpreters including bilingual staff, volunteers, contracted vendors, or telephonic interpretation services.  Translation service may range from translation of an entire document to translation of a short descriptive summary of the document. Examples of documents that may require oral or written translation include, but are not limited to, application forms for employment, complaint forms, and intake/information forms.

An LEP individual may choose to use their own interpreter or translator (at their own expense) in lieu of or in addition to the free language services offered by the University.  Special care will be taken to document that the use of their own interpreter or translator was voluntary and that the University otherwise offered free language assistance.

The University will provide notice to its employees of the language access procedures set forth in this Plan.  Faculty and staff members responsible for contact with the general public will be knowledgeable about the Plan and how to engage in a request for language services for persons with Limited English Proficiency.  Refresher information will be provided when updates are made to the Plan to ensure consistency.

The University will post this Plan for LEP individuals on the OEO webpage. 

The University will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Plan on a regular basis.  This process may include updating the Plan for new LEP populations or when a new resource to provide language services becomes available.  Any update to the Plan will be posted in a timely manner.

An LEP individual wishing to file a complaint of discrimination with the University based on national origin should follow the applicable policy and procedure, as detailed in the University’s Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policy. Information about filing a complaint externally can be found at: https://www.lep.gov/file-a-title-vi-complaint.

Appendix A

Identification and Assessment of LEP Communities

Iowa has a total population of 2,943,081 people.  Iowa has a total LEP population of 101,026, which is 3.4% of Iowa’s overall population.[1]  The language spoken by those persons is as follows:

Data regarding the LEP population in Iowa is from the U.S. Census, which is updated every ten years. Changes in the LEP population will be monitored using mid-census estimates and projections from the American Community Survey (ACS). Other data from the Department of Education, the Migration Policy Institute, or other local or state agencies may also be