Affirming LEP 

Access & 

Compliance 

in Federal 

and Federally 

Assisted 

Programs

NUREG/BR-0345

December 2008

Limited English 

Proficiency (LEP)

Thinking outside the box 

in delivering services 

to all persons regardless of 

race, color, or 

national origin.

INTERAGENCY WORKING 

GROUP ON LEP 

Mission

To build awareness of the need and 

methods to ensure that persons with 

limited English proficiency (LEP) have 

meaningful access to important Federal 

and Federally assisted programs, and to 

ensure implementation of language access 

requirements under Title VI, the Title VI 

regulations, and Executive Order 13166 

in a consistent and effective manner 

across agencies.

Focus

•	 Creation and expansion of a one-stop

Web site on LEP issues 

•	 Creation of tools to assist recipients

and beneficiaries in understanding 

and applying recipient guidance 

documents 

•	 Collaboration among agencies

in making Federally conducted 

activities meaningfully accessible 

to LEP individuals 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

U.S. Department of Justice

Civil Rights Division

Coordination and Review Section - NWB

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/

Title VI Hotline:

1-888-TITLE-06 (1-888-848-5306)

(Voice / TDD)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Small Business and Civil Rights

Outreach and Compliance Coordination Program

Mailstop: O-3H8

Washington, DC 20555-0001

Phone:	 301-415-7380

Fax:	 301-415-5953

TDD:	 301-415-5244
LIMITED

ENGLISH 

PROFICIENCY 

(LEP)

The Federal Government and those 

receiving assistance 

from the Federal 

Government must take 

reasonable steps to ensure 

that LEP persons have meaningful access to the programs, 

services, and information those entities provide. 

This will require agencies to think outside the 

box for creative solutions to address the needs 

of this ever-growing population of individuals for

whom English is not their primary language.

Who is a Limited English Proficient Person?

Persons who do not speak English as their 

primary language and who have a limited ability 

to read, speak, write, or understand English can 

have limited English proficiency, or “LEP.” These 

individuals may be entitled to language assistance 

with respect to a particular type of service, 

benefit, or encounter.

Who Must Comply and Who Can be Found in 

Violation? 

All programs and the operations of entities that 

receive assistance from the Federal Government 

(i.e., recipients), must comply, including:

•	 State agencies

•	 Local agencies

•	 Private and nonprofit entities

Subrecipients (entities that receive Federal

funding from one of the recipients listed above) 

also must comply. 

All programs and operations of the Federal 

Government also must comply.

LEGAL AUTHORITY

Recipients—Title VI of the 1964 Civil 

Rights Act

“No person in the United States shall, on the

ground of race, color, or national origin, be 

excluded from participation in, be denied the 

benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination 

under any program or activity receiving 

Federal financial assistance.” 

42 U.S.C. § 2000d.

The Supreme Court of the United States of

America in Lau v. Nichols (1974) stated that

one type of national origin discrimination is 

discrimination based on a person’s inability to 

speak, read, write, or understand English.

Recipients and Federal Government—

Executive Order 13166 

On August 2000, this order, “Improving Access

to Services for Persons with Limited English

Proficiency,” was issued and directed Federal 

agencies to:

•	 Publish guidance on how their recipients

can provide access to LEP persons. 

•	 Improve the language accessibility of

their own programs. 

•	 Break down language barriers by

implementing consistent standards of 

language assistance across Federal 

agencies and among all recipients of 

Federal financial assistance. 

The Order covers all Federal and Federally 

assisted programs and activities.

OBLIGATIONS

FOUR-FACTOR ANALYSIS

Recipients of Federal financial assistance have

an obligation to reduce language barriers that 

can preclude meaningful access by LEP persons 

to important government services. (The Federal 

Government has the same obligations as a result 

of Executive Order 13166.) The starting point is 

an individualized assessment that balances the 

following four factors: 

1. The number or proportion of LEP persons 

eligible to be served or likely to be encountered by the program or grantee/recipient 

2.	 The frequency with which LEP individuals

come in contact with the program

3. The nature and importance of the program, 

activity, or service provided by the program 

to people’s lives

4.	 The resources available to the grantee/

recipient and costs

Elements of an Effective LEP Policy

Elements which may be helpful in designing an 

LEP policy or plan: 

•	 Identifying LEP persons who need

language assistance 

•	 Identifying ways in which language

assistance will be provided 

•	 Training staff

•	 Providing notice to LEP persons

•	 Monitoring and updating LEP policy

Language Assistance Services

•	 Oral interpretation services

•	 Bilingual staff

•	 Telephone interpreter lines

•	 Written language services

•	 Community volunteers