[DATE]
Director Steven Dillingham
U.S. Census Bureau
4600 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, MD 20746
Dear Director Dillingham:
This letter is to request key changes to both the content and process of the next American Community Survey (ACS). First, we applaud your agency’s commitment to increase outreach with the Deaf community in preparation for the 2020 Census, including but not limited to working with the National Association of the Deaf and other Deaf-run advocacy organizations.
We look forward to the American Sign Language (ASL) version of the Census and more field specialists fluent in ASL. We also appreciate the Census Bureau’s willingness to be more involved with local and national events in the Deaf community. As you may know, ASL is the third most commonly taught language in the United States (Modern Language Association, 2018) — yet, the ACS leaves out this important language. For instance, one question in the ACS asks about languages “spoken” at home” — this ignores the uniqueness of ASL which is not spoken. Furthermore, the Census Bureau currently considers ASL users as being English speakers, which is improper and highly offensive. ASL does not follow the syntax, morphology, phonology, or structure of English. No linguist considers ASL as being based on English.
This is not acceptable because it represents a missed opportunity to collect critical information for identification of unmet service needs, such as emergency preparedness, transportation, health care, and housing. Federal agencies, organizations, local governments, and private entities rely on the Bureau’s language data to determine how and where to provide language services. Moreover, federal laws such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandate equal access for people with disabilities, and the Census Bureau can ensure this law is followed by providing access through ASL and counting the number of ASL users.
We urge the Bureau to recognize ASL as a language completely separate from the English language and not to use audist words such as “spoken” in its language question. The Deaf community deserves to have its language recognized and to receive data to support census efforts to provide adequate services to this community.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]