Translation Services

Translation: the rendering of something written from one language into another.


Translation services are only available for documents authored and requested by schools and offices of the Department of Education. Documents processed for translation purposes must contain critical information for parents about their child’s education. Languages offered include: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Urdu. These languages, plus English, make up approximately 95% of our student households. Translation services in additional languages can be obtained via external vendors.

To obtain translation services, a requesting school or office must complete a Translation Request Form (see the Key Documents section of this site, at right) and submit it to translations@schools.nyc.gov, along with the file to be translated. Once your request has been received, the project will be assessed and an estimated completion date will be provided.

  • When calculating turnaround times for translation projects, the following factors are taken into consideration: 
  • Amount of text to be translated
  • Number of languages involved
  • Complexity of highly formatted files
  • Number of individual files/documents to process
  • Current workload

Once the project has been completed, the translations will be returned as PDF files via e-mail. Upon delivery, the Translation and Interpretation Unit is not responsible for the quality and accuracy of the translation if it is altered in any manner without the prior approval of the Unit.

Keep the following in mind when preparing and submitting your text for translation purposes:

  • Translation services are provided on a first-come, first-served basis; please plan ahead.
  • Make sure the document is final and approved text before submitting it for translation.
  • Use clear, succinct writing. Avoid ambiguities.
  • Minimize the use of abbreviations and define acronyms.
  • If the document will be printed on a letterhead or will contain images, please send these along with the file to be translated.
  • The Translation and Interpretation Unit does not proofread or review translations done by outside parties.