Executive Order 13166, signed on August 11, 2000, requires each Federal agency to examine the services it provides for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Agencies must develop and implement a system by which people who have limited English proficiency can meaningfully access those services consistent with, and without unduly burdening, the fundamental mission of the agency. It also calls on Federal agencies to work to ensure that recipients of Federal financial assistance provide meaningful access to their LEP applicants and beneficiaries.

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a Policy Guidance Document, "Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - National Origin Discrimination Against Persons With Limited English Proficiency" (2002 LEP Guidance). This LEP Guidance sets forth the compliance standards that recipients of Federal financial assistance must follow to ensure that their programs and activities normally provided in English are accessible to LEP persons and thus do not discriminate on the basis of national origin in violation of Title VI's prohibition against national origin discrimination.

Additional information about the Federal Government's efforts to provide meaningful access to persons with limited English proficiency can be found on the LEP.gov website, a project of the Interagency Working Group on Limited English Proficiency.

Point of Contact: Cristina Bartolomei