You are confused because it is confusing. We’ve had a lot of wrangling about this of late, including a new rule that went into effect at the start of 2015. Now we have a proposed addition to that rule that may make it more clear.
Here’s where we are right now. The current rule says:
If the student's parent is unable to speak English and the parent's native language is Spanish, the school district must provide a written copy or audio recording of the student's IEP translated into Spanish. If the student's parent is unable to speak English and the parent's native language is a language other than Spanish, the school district must make a good faith effort to provide a written copy or audio recording of the student's IEP translated into the parent's native language.
This is pretty much the same language we have in the Education Code at 29.005(d). Notice that both the statute and the rule call on districts to translate the IEP—not the ARD meeting. This has caused much confusion, as some folks fail to distinguish between the two. But they are different. The proposed rule clarifies this. It reads as follows:
(1) For purposes of this subsection, a written copy of the student's IEP translated into Spanish or the parent's native language means that all of the text in the student's IEP in English is accurately translated into the target language in written form. The IEP translated into the target language must be a comparable rendition of the IEP in English and not a partial translation or summary of the IEP in English.
(2) For purposes of this subsection, an audio recording of the student's IEP translated into Spanish or the parent's native language means that all of the content in the student's IEP in English is orally translated into the target language and recorded with an audio device. A school district is not prohibited from providing the parent with an audio recording of an ARD committee meeting at which the parent was assisted by an interpreter as long as the audio recording provided to the parent contains an oral translation into the target language of all of the content in the student's IEP in English.
(3) If a parent's native language is not a written language, the school district must take steps to ensure that the student's IEP is translated orally or by other means to the parent in his or her native language or other mode of communication.
We added emphasis to that with the bold font to make sure the message gets across. It’s not the back-and-forth at the ARD meeting that must be translated. It’s the IEP. All of it.
DAWG BONE: TRANSLATING THE IEP IS A MUY BUENO IDEA.