Does the failure by a recipient to provide meaningful access to LEP persons constitute national origin discrimination?
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Lau, other courts have found that the failure by a recipient to provide meaningful access to LEP persons constitutes national origin discrimination. See, e.g., Sandoval v. Hagan, 197 F.3d 484, 510-11 (11th Cir. 1999) (holding that English-only policy for driver’s license applications constituted national origin discrimination under Title VI), rev’d on other grounds, 532 U.S. 275 (2001); Almendares v. Palmer, 284 F. Supp. 2d 799, 808 (N.D. Ohio 2003) (holding that allegations of failure to ensure bilingual services in a food stamp program could constitute a violation of Title VI).
