The Nashville City Paper asked Metro departments how they would be affected by English Only, and no one knew what would happen to their (sometimes prize-winning) secondary-language communications. Here is an excerpt:
Voters unsure of how they will vote on the English Only referendum at the Jan. 22 special election might be interested to find out that Metro departments don’t know how the charter amendment proposal would tangibly change the way they do business.
From Metro Water to Public Works to Metro Nashville Public Schools, department after department has told The City Paper that the English Only proposal is too vaguely worded to predict its effect.
Even the leader of Nashville English First, the group pushing the charter amendment, said there could be unintended consequences if the proposal passes on Jan. 22.
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Police runs a program called El Protector, which uses Spanish-speaking officers to do proactive outreach and education on key issues like how to access emergency services. El Protector also educates the Nashville immigrant community on drunk driving and domestic violence laws.
El Protector has become successful enough that it will be recognized as an exemplary program by the Vera Institute of Justice at the beginning of the year, according to Aaron.
It’s against that backdrop that Police are left wondering whether El Protector would violate the Metro Charter if English Only were to pass.
The full story is here.
Nashville for All of Us Official Blog 