Job Corps serves over 6,000 English language learners (ELLs) annually, who speak a wide variety of languages such as Spanish, Russian, French, Arabic, Amharic, Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese. Over one quarter of all Job Corps centers provide comprehensive English as a Second Language (ESL) programs to students with limited English proficiency.

There are a number of reasons that it is important for Job Corps to take steps to ensure that ELLs have full and equal access to DOL funded services. The first of these is a legal one. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs and activities on the basis of national origin, just as it prohibits discrimination based on race or color. In addition to the Civil Rights Act, recipients of federal financial assistance under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) are subject to the equal opportunity provisions of Section 188 of WIA.

Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and under Executive Order 13166 requiring federal programs to provide language assistance, all Job Corps centers are responsible for ensuring meaningful access to services for ELLs. Executive Order 13166 was issued in 2000 “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 Executive Order calls for federal agencies to: 

(1) Improve the accessibility of federally funded services to eligible ELLs, and

(2) Promote programs and activities designed to help individuals learn English.

To accomplish these goals, the Executive Order asks that each federal agency examine the services it provides and develop and implement a system by which ELLs can meaningfully access services—consistent with, and without unduly burdening, the fundamental mission of the agency. Click to view DOL Guidance: Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (PDF file, click to download Adobe® Acrobat Reader).