Language Access Plan

Over one million residents of the H-GAC metropolitan planning area speak a language other than English as their primary or “home” language. Many of these individuals have difficulty communicating in the English language. The inability to read, write, speak, or understand English proficiently is a significant deterrent to participation in the transportation planning process and can preclude effective access to valuable program benefits and services, and to understanding vital information meant for the public.

H-GAC is updating its Language Access Plan (LAP) to ensure it continues to meet the language assistance needs of the population with limited English proficiency (LEP), also known as English language learners (ELL), that reside or function within its planning region. The LAP furthers H-GAC’s “Connecting Communities” initiative by identifying and authorizing language assistance measures that ensure that individuals who face challenges communicating in English have meaningful access to the MPO’s programs, activities and services.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d, et seq.) and Executive Order 13166 direct recipients of federal financial assistance to take reasonable and necessary steps to ensure that persons with limited proficiency in the English language have meaningful access to the organization’s federally assisted programs, activities, and services. H-GAC’s language access plan outlines the agency’s responsibilities towards the LEP population and defines a process for providing language assistance services to those individuals that need and request them. Federal guidance recommends that organizations conduct periodic reviews of the language access plan in order to keep up with changes in the size, composition, and linguistic characteristics of the LEP population, and to monitor the effectiveness of the program. Completion of the LAP update is anticipated for May, 2024.

Language and Engagement Survey

To assist that LAP update and bolster outreach efforts, H-GAC is introducing a “Language and Engagement” survey for gathering information related to language use and citizen participation within the planning region. The survey addresses two related issues: “what are the language preferences of the ethnic minority population in the regional community,” and “what are best strategies for encouraging greater participation in H-GAC’s public involvement activities by individuals who have historically been disconnected from the process?”

Community Roundtables

As part of the LAP update process, community roundtable events are planned to foster dialogue with advocates, representatives, and members of racial and ethnic minority residents of the greater Houston region. The roundtables are intended as a means to obtain feedback on the needs of these communities and to inform the update to H-GAC’s Language Access Plan and the Title VI Program. The community roundtable events are planned to run through the fall of 2023.