Education Laws and Regulations

603 CMR 57.00

Standards for Interpretation and Translation Services in Schools

Section:

  • 57.01: Scope and Purpose
  • 57.02: Definitions
  • 57.03: Standards for the Qualifications of Interpreters
  • 57.04: Standards for the Qualifications of Translators
  • 57.05: Standards for the Provision of Interpretation and Translation Services
  • 57.06: General Requirements
  • View All Sections

Adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education: June 23, 2026
Effective date of these regulations: September 1, 2027


57.05: Standards for the Provision of Interpretation and Translation Services

  1. (1) Education Interpreters or Advanced Education Interpreters provide interpretation services for communications between school staff and parents and legal guardians with limited English proficiency related to matters that do not require a specialized vocabulary, including but not limited to spontaneous conversations, and discussions at parent/teacher conferences and open houses.

  2. (2) Advanced Education Interpreters provide interpretation services for scheduled meetings including but not limited to Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team meetings or other meetings relating to special education; meetings for safety plans; meetings for English Learner Education program placement; due process or student discipline hearings; meetings addressing bullying complaints; or meetings addressing the use of physical restraint or seclusion.

  3. (3) Machine translation may be used to translate a document so long as the translation is reviewed and edited as needed by a School Translator before the document is provided to a parent or legal guardian with limited English proficiency. Multilingual communication applications or tools that support translated communication between parents or legal guardians and school staff may be used without review and editing by a School Translator for informational notifications that do not include any specialized terminology.

Regulatory Authority

M.G.L. c. 69, § 1B


Disclaimer:
For an official copy of these regulations, please contact the State House Bookstore, at 617-727-2834 or visit Massachusetts State Bookstore .

Last Updated: July 17, 2026

Top