The Indiana Supreme Court is committed to providing meaningful, fair, and effective language access in Indiana courts. From the early work of the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Race and Gender Fairness, which led the Indiana judiciary to develop a statewide court interpreter certification system, to the current initiatives of the Language Access Advisory Committee (formerly known as the Language Access Task Force), the Indiana judicial branch is working to improve access to the state courts for limited English proficient (LEP) individuals and those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The Indiana judicial branch's Language Access Plan (LAP) is a result of ongoing efforts by the Language Access Task Force to improve and develop comprehensive statewide policies and procedures to ensure language access throughout the courts in the state. While the Indiana judicial branch is a non-unified court system, the Indiana Supreme Court provides the statewide trial rules for local courts throughout the state's ninety-two counties. Language access rules and procedures are within the purview of the Indiana Supreme Court and are overseen by the Office of Judicial Administration. The plan will be managed and administered under the OJA. Trial courts also have their own local rules for court operations and may have additional policies and procedures to address language and communication needs at the local level.
The LAP provides the framework, policies, and procedures for the statewide delivery of high-quality meaningful language access, and provides the guidance and support needed to comply with the language access policy of the judiciary.