III. Authority and guidance

Federal authority

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance. This has been interpreted to mandate the provision of translation and interpretation services where necessary to ensure equal access to services.
• Policy Guidance Concerning Recipients’ Responsibility to Limited English Proficient (LD) Persons: Established best practices for Language Access Plans, and required local agencies that receive DOT funding to provide meaningful access to services to LD individuals.

State authority

• Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act: California public agencies are required to make every effort to provide language access services when at least 5% of the population served consists of individuals who speak a language other than English or cannot communicate effectively because it is not their primary language.
• The Unruh Civil Rights Act (California Civil Rights Act): Prohibits discrimination by agencies that receive state funds and requires them to provide equal access to benefits without regard to the beneficiary’s race, color, national origin, or ethnic group identification, among other factors.

Alignment to San Rafael policy

• San Rafael’s Strategic Plan 2025-2028: G.2.3 Develop and implement the City’s Language Resource Access Plan to improve multilingual engagement practices.
• City of San Rafael’s 2040 General Plan: Program EDI-1.3A: Removing Language Barriers. Ensure that Latino and other non-English-speaking populations may actively participate in local decision-making through such methods as bilingual notices, translation of meeting materials, the use of accessible (non-jargon) and culturally competent language, Spanish language meetings, new platforms for commenting (such as Facebook and Zoom), and having interpreters at public meetings.

IV. Four factor analysis

This section uses HUD’s four-factor analysis to determine the eligible LD population(s) and the level of language services to be provided to LD individuals by the City. The four-factor analysis is intended to provide flexibility in implementing a program that meets the intent of federal guidelines for an LAP without imposing undue burdens on recipients’ or subrecipients’ financial resources or organizational capacity.

The four factors include:

1. The number or proportion of LD individuals of a particular language group eligible to be served or likely to be encountered in the eligible service population;
2. The frequency with which LD individuals of different language groups come in contact with the service branch;
3. The nature and importance of the activities provided by the service branch; and
4. The resources available to the service branch to provide language assistance.

In accordance with US DOT guidelines, the City examined multiple data sources and conducted targeted outreach with staff and LD persons to develop the four-factor analysis.

Factor 1: The number or proportion of LD individuals of a particular language group eligible to be served or likely to be encountered in the eligible service population.

For the Factor 1 Analysis, the City analyzed the US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data to identify the City’s LD population. The ACS is a continuous nationwide survey conducted monthly by the US Census Bureau. It is intended to measure the changing socioeconomic characteristics and conditions of the population on a regular basis.