A decade ago, about 29 percent of Gwinnett students spoke a language other than English at home. Today, it’s 37 percent, district officials say.

That increase, and federal requirements to better serve families who speak little or no English, has resulted in Gwinnett spending more money on interpretation services, school district officials say. School board members are scheduled Thursday to increase its maximum budget for those services to $1.5 million, three times what it spent last school year.

Gwinnett officials stress the $1.5 million is a cushion if the need is greater than they anticipate.

Read more about the issue here.

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Uta Thomas picks up her son, Jax, during a public hearing in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. She implored the school board not to close Dunbar Elementary. 
"You would centralize education to decentralized families," she said. "You would break apart a community hub." (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

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Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat gives a tour of Fulton County Jail in  2023. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2023)

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC