Immigrant rights groups file federal complaint over lack of language access to Tennessee driver’s licenses

Driving is an essential part of life in most parts of Tennessee. And if you don’t speak English — or a handful of other languages — getting a driver’s license can be difficult. That’s why a coalition of Tennessee-based immigrant rights groups is filing a federal complaint against the state.

More: Curious Nashville: Arabic is the third-most spoken language in Tennessee. So why isn’t it offered on the state’s driver exam?

The Our State, Our Languages Coalition alleges that the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Driver Services Division fail to provide sufficient language access to the driver’s exam, violating civil rights law.

At the core of the coalition’s complaint is guidance which requires agencies that receive federal funds to provide meaningful access to their services. Federal guidance states agencies should provide translation or interpretation if at least 1,000 people or 5% of the population have limited English proficiency. In Tennessee, that would include Arabic, Chinese, Somali, Kurdish, and more, said the coalition.

Tennessee’s written driving test is already offered in Spanish, German, Japanese and Korean. However, most of those language options are linked to auto manufacturers moving to the state. The road test is offered only in English.

The coalition said the lack of language access for people who speak other languages, amounts to a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discriminating against Tennesseans based on their country of origin. The group plans to hold a press conference Thursday morning at Casa Azafrán, a community center on Nolensville Pike that serves a variety of immigrant populations. The coalition consists of the following groups:

• American Muslim Advisory Council
• Asian Pacific Islander of Middle Tennessee
• Ethiopian Community Association of Nashville
• Somali Community of Middle Tennessee
• Never Again Action Tennessee.

The group formed in 2022 after years of advocating for expanded language access as individual organizations. The coalition said it asked Tennessee to update the languages the exam is offered in. This year, the coalition said it reached out to driver services centers across the state seeking translation services and found no change. The group said people seeking translation services “were at times met with hostility,” according to a press release.

In 2022, WPLN investigated why Arabic, the state’s third most-spoken language, is not on option for the driver’s exam. At that time, then-director of Driver Services Division Michael Hogan said he had presented the request to higher ups. But by the end of 2022, the department said there were no changes to the languages offered on the exam, and he declined a follow-up interview.