HAVE
A ROLE IN OUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS?
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published
September 17, 2012
I recently saw that there's a law firm that's teaching the condominium Board Certification Course in Spanish. The question is…….should it be?
It certainly can be argued that it's more important that people learn the law in a language they understand, rather than being taught the law in a language they don't understand. Comprehension should be the objective.
But when you factor into the mix that the statutes, the administrative code, court decisions, arbitration decisions, declaration, bylaws, articles and rules and regulations are all written in English, it also can be argued that the ability to understand these documents can only be mastered if the reader knows and understands English.
I would guess that many Floridians don't know or remember this, but in 1988 the voters of this state passed a constitutional amendment that states:
SECTION 9:
(a)
English is the official language of the State of Florida.
(b) The legislature shall have the power to enforce this section by appropriate legislation.
So, at least at one time, the residents of this state made it clear that they want English spoken here as the primary language. As a result of the amendment, there's no question that the Legislature can pass a simple statute that says condominium and HOA meetings shall be conducted in English and certification courses shall be taught in English. Again, the question is……..should they?
The state is requiring board member certification and is condoning certification and learning the material in a language other than English. Where does it stop? Should the state eventually let Community Association Managers pass their exams in another language? Should the state let Community Association managers take continuing education classes in a language other than English? Do we then move on to attorneys and doctors being allowed to take their exams in another language?
I was once at a Board meeting where the entire meeting was handled by the Board in French. It made the English speaking members pretty upset. Yet, there was no law against it. So…since there's no law against it, in Hispanic communities should we allow the association's business to be conducted in Spanish? In Haitian communities is it OK to conduct business in Creole? What are your thoughts? English only or any language goes?
