The statutory and regulatory framework for improving access to services for LEP persons stems from Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an executive order, DOJ regulations and guidance, and DOT regulations and guidance. Section 601 of Title VI provides that no person 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.” Section 602 of Title VI directs federal agencies to implement section 601 of the act by issuing rules, regulations, or orders. In its efforts to implement section 601, DOJ has issued regulations that bar unjustified disparate impact on the basis of national origin. On August 11, 2000, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13166 to improve access to federally conducted and federally assisted programs and activities for persons who, as a result of national origin, are limited in their English proficiency. The order encouraged all federal agencies to take steps to ensure that any recipients of federal financial assistance under their purview provide meaningful access to their LEP applicants and beneficiaries. The order further requires that each federal agency providing federal financial assistance to prepare guidance specifically tailored to its recipients. The agencies’ guidance must then be reviewed and approved by DOJ before being issued. DOJ released guidance in 2000 that set forth general principles for federal agencies to apply to ensure that their programs and activities provide reasonable access to LEP persons and, thus, do not discriminate on the basis of national origin. The DOJ guidance explains that, with respect to federally assisted programs and activities, Executive Order 13166 “does not create new obligations, but rather, clarifies existing Title VI responsibilities.” Although Title VI and its implementing regulations require that recipients take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access by LEP persons, federal agencies’ LEP guidance recognize that each situation is fact-specific, and that it would not make sense for the guidance to mandate specific approaches to comply with Title VI. Rather, the purpose of federal agencies’ guidance is to provide recipients with a framework for assessing their obligations under Title VI, while maintaining flexibility for the recipients to determine how best to comply with those obligations. Thus, the guidance outlines steps federal-funds recipients can take to avoid administering programs in a way that results in discrimination on the basis of national origin, which would be in violation of Title VI regulations. In general, the test for assessing the existence of national origin discrimination on the basis of language under Title VI is to determine whether the failure to provide a service in a language that a recipient understands will prevent the recipient from receiving essentially the same level of service benefit as an English speaker. DOJ’s guidance established a four-factor analysis to help determine the extent of a funding recipient’s obligation to provide LEP services. These four factors are (1) the number or proportion of LEP persons eligible to be served or likely to be encountered by the program or grantee; (2) the frequency with which LEP persons come in contact with the program; (3) the nature and importance to people’s lives of the program, activity, or service provided by the grantee; and (4) the resources available to the grantee and costs. According to DOJ, the intent of the analysis is to suggest a balance that ensures meaningful access by LEP persons to critical services, while not imposing undue burdens on small businesses, local governments, or nonprofits. DOT issued its guidance in 2001. This guidance was generally consistent with DOJ’s guidance but included three additional factors, as well as the four factors previously outlined, suggesting that funding recipients should also consider (1) the level of services provided to fully English-proficient people; (2) whether LEP persons are being excluded from services, or are being provided a lower level of services; and (3) whether the agency has adequate justification for restrictions, if any, on special language services. The guidance states that such restrictions would be accepted only in rare circumstances. On the basis of public comments, DOT subsequently revised its guidance, and the revised guidance was approved by DOJ on August 25, 2005. DOT is currently preparing to publish and release its revised guidance. In addition to describing factors that funding recipients should consider in assessing their obligations to provide LEP services, DOT’s guidance outlines several key components to an effective language access program, stating that grantees should (1) conduct an assessment of the language groups within their service areas and the language needs of these groups; (2) develop and implement written plans outlining their strategies for ensuring access to services for LEP populations; (3) make staffs aware of the LEP access plan, and train the staffs and provide them with the tools necessary to carry out the plan; (4) ensure that language access services are actually provided in a consistent manner, and that LEP populations are aware of the services; and (5) develop monitoring programs that allow grantees to assess the success of their LEP access programs and to identify needed modifications. These five steps are designed to help DOT grantees ensure that they are not administering their programs in a way that results in discrimination in violation of Title VI. Several offices within DOT, particularly the Office of Civil Rights within FTA, have responsibility for ensuring that transit operators and transportation planning entities receiving DOT funds are in compliance with Title VI and responsibility for monitoring and overseeing their language access activities. The types of language access services provided by the transit agencies and MPOs we visited included translated service brochures, multilingual telephone lines, translated Web sites, bilingual customer service staffs, and a host of other services. However, the effects and costs of these services are largely unknown. The extent of language access provided varied across the areas we visited during our case studies, and services provided often varied across agencies within the same metropolitan area. Almost all of the transit agencies and MPOs we visited provided at least some language access services in Spanish, the largest LEP language group, and some agencies provided services in other languages. Little is known about the effects of these services on improving access to public transportation and the transportation planning and decision-making process for LEP populations, but community and advocacy groups in the areas we visited identified several gaps in the language access services provided by agencies, such as a lack of awareness in the community about the services available. Given such problems, community groups told us that more proactive agency outreach to LEP communities to determine specific needs and advertise existing services might improve the effectiveness of language access services, whereas a lack of outreach and poor publicizing of available services could likely reduce the impact and utilization of the materials and services provided. One agency cited the positive benefits it received by improving its outreach to non-English-speaking populations, including increased ridership and enhanced public support for the agency. Little is also known about the costs of providing such services, and most agencies saw the language access they provide as a cost of doing business as opposed to an additional cost; however, agencies told us that costs could become prohibitive if services were substantially expanded or provided in several additional languages. During our case studies, we found that providing language access to LEP populations can be incorporated into all of the different ways in which transit agencies and MPOs communicate with the public, not only regarding the transportation services they provide but regarding how agencies provide LEP communities with access to the transportation planning and decision-making process. Transit riders and potential transit riders may need a variety of different types of information to plan their trips, use the transit system, and participate in the transportation planning and decision-making process. For example, potential riders may need to know about the existence of available services, destinations, and travel options, and about time schedules, route options, and transfer policies. When in the transit system, riders may need to know where stops are located, whether service changes have occurred, about available fare and payment options, and about emergency and safety information. Riders may also need confirmation that they are on the right route or are exiting at the correct stop. To participate in the transportation planning and decision- making process, individuals need to know how the process works, what is the purpose and effect of their participation, and when and where public meetings are being held, in addition to needing to be able to understand the proceedings of public meetings and to make statements and participate in those discussions. To provide such access to LEP populations, transit agencies and MPOs employed a host of different communication strategies, including the following: providing bilingual or multilingual telephone services; translating written materials; translating signs or notices posted at stations, at stops, or on vehicles; providing in-person language assistance through drivers, interpreters, or multilingual customer service staffs; advertising in other languages on television, on radio, or in newspapers; translating materials on their Web sites; translating recorded announcements or electronic signs; or making ticket machines accessible in other languages. In providing language access, the agencies in each of the areas we visited faced different challenges. In North Carolina and northwest Arkansas, agencies are facing a substantial recent growth in the size of the Spanish- speaking population. (See app. I for more information on the size and growth of LEP populations in these two areas.) In parts of California—the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles and Orange County areas— and in Chicago, Illinois, the predominance of a number of Asian and other language groups, in addition to a large percentage of Spanish-speakers, presents further challenges. Agencies in Austin, Texas, have also experienced growth in Asian languages spoken in the area. Figure 3 shows the percentages of the transit agencies and MPOs we visited that provided services in at least Spanish for each of these communication strategies. However, in some cases, agencies may not utilize these communication strategies, even in English, and these agencies are not included in the percentage calculation.