The federal administration issued Executive Order 14224 Designating English as the Official Language of the United States in March 2025. On Monday, July 14, 2025, the Office of the Attorney General released guidance on implementing Executive Order 14224, suspending language access operations within the federal government.
What does Executive Order 14224 and the guidance say?
14224 and subsequent guidance from the Office of the Attorney General directs federal agencies only to suspend language access services within their operations. The Executive Order directs federal agencies to take an English-only approach to its services.
What does this mean for New York State agencies?
New Yorkers speak over 800 languages. Executive Order 14224 and the guidance neither affect nor revoke the requirements under the New York State Language Access Law.
New York State remains firmly committed to supporting State agencies in the continued and robust implementation of New York’s Language Access Law, allowing all New Yorkers to receive government services and benefits no matter their level of English proficiency or preferred language. The 2026 budget commits $2.3 million to support language access.
For language access resources such as translation best practices, Your Language Access Rights in New York State brochures in 26 languages, New York State Language Dashboard and more, visit the Language Access Resources Page. The Office of Language Access continues to develop guidance and best practices for implementation. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions or concerns.