Blog
Guides for accessible public meetings
Practical articles for clerks, IT staff and managers: SB 707 and the ADA Title II web rule, live captions and translation, CivicCA, and setting up the chamber.
Compliance
- Compliance
SB 707: what changes for public meetings, and where live captions fit
A plain-language look at SB 707's Brown Act changes starting July 1, 2026, and how live captions and translation can support its goals.
- Compliance
The ADA Title II web rule and live captions: what the 2027 and 2028 dates mean
DOJ moved the ADA Title II web rule dates to April 2027 and April 2028. What that means for live meeting captions and how to use the extra time.
- Compliance
WCAG 1.2.4 live captions, explained for clerks
What WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 Captions (Live) means for streamed public meetings, in plain language for city and county clerks.
- Compliance
Automatic captions and CART: when each makes sense
Automatic live captions and human CART captioning both have a place in public meetings. A plain-language guide for clerks on when to use each.
- Compliance
Remote public comment under SB 707, and captions for remote participants
SB 707 requires eligible bodies to offer remote public comment starting July 1, 2026. How live captions can help remote participants follow along.
- Compliance
Language access compliance for local government in 2026
Language access compliance for California local government in 2026: Title VI and LEP after EO 14224, the Bilingual Services Act, SB 707 and a checklist.
- Compliance
Title VI and language access after Executive Order 14224
What Executive Order 14224 changed for Title VI language access, what it didn't, and practical questions for local agencies to review with counsel.
- Compliance
California's Bilingual Services Act and public meetings
How the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act relates to public meetings, how it fits with SB 707, and practical steps for California clerks.
- Compliance
Board of supervisors meeting translation and captions
For clerks of the board: board of supervisors meeting translation and live captions, SB 707 and ADA Title II dates, and running several rooms at once.
- Compliance
Accessible hybrid public meetings: captions for in-room and remote residents
Hybrid meetings accessibility for public agencies: how to serve in-room and remote residents with captions, translation and clear comment instructions.
Language access
- Language access
SB 707 agenda translation: a practical checklist for clerks
A step-by-step checklist for clerks preparing translated agendas under SB 707, from picking applicable languages to posting and joining instructions.
- Language access
Captioning public comment in more than one language
Practical steps for captioning and translating public comment so residents can follow along in their language, on the chamber screen and their phones.
- Language access
Choosing translation languages for your meetings
How to pick live translation languages for public meetings: start with your agenda languages, add others for specific meetings, and plan for gaps.
- Language access
Captions on residents' phones with a QR code
How residents can scan a QR code and read live captions in their language on their own phone, with no app or sign-in, and how to promote it.
- Language access
Captioning planning commissions and committees, not just council
Why and how to extend live captions and translation from council or board meetings to planning commissions, committees and advisory bodies.
- Language access
City council meeting translation: a practical guide
A practical guide to city council meeting translation: what SB 707 asks for, the options available, how to choose languages and a step-by-step rollout.
- Language access
AI translation for local government: what it can and can't do
An honest look at AI translation for local government meetings: where it helps, where it falls short, and how to use it responsibly alongside people.
- Language access
Translation vs. interpretation for public meetings: what's the difference?
Translation vs interpretation for public meetings: plain definitions, when each fits, how SB 707 uses the terms, and how to plan for both.
- Language access
How to write a language access plan for public meetings
A step-by-step language access plan for public meetings, with a simple template outline clerks can adapt for agendas, live meetings and records.
- Language access
Live Spanish translation for city council meetings
How live Spanish translation for city council meetings works: Spanish captions on the chamber screen and phones, public comment, setup and review.
- Language access
Chinese and Vietnamese translation for public meetings
How to offer Chinese and Vietnamese translation at public meetings: choosing Simplified or Traditional, setup, quality review and outreach to residents.
- Language access
Tagalog, Punjabi and Armenian live translation for public meetings
Offering Tagalog, Punjabi or Armenian live translation at public meetings: how to decide, set up, check quality and plan for unsupported languages.
- Language access
Translating public hearings so every resident can follow
Public hearing translation in practice: when to use translated captions, when to bring a public hearing interpreter, and a checklist for hearing night.
- Language access
School board meeting translation and captions
How school districts can add school board meeting translation and live captions for families, what laws to ask counsel about, and a setup checklist.
- Language access
"AI interpretation" for public meetings: what it means and what to ask
What "AI interpretation" usually means for public meetings, how it differs from human interpreters and translated captions, and questions to ask first.
- Language access
Live translation for Zoom council meetings: what works
How to offer live translated captions to residents attending council meetings on Zoom, what goes into Zoom, and what stays on the phone page.
How-to
- How-to
Pausing captions for recess and closed session
How to pause and resume live captions for recess and closed session, what residents see while paused, and a simple routine for the clerk's desk.
- How-to
Putting live captions on the chamber screen: a setup guide
A step-by-step guide to showing live captions and translations on the chamber or lobby TV, from choosing a screen to testing from the back row.
- How-to
Adding live captions to your YouTube Live meeting stream
How to send live captions to the YouTube Live stream of your council or board meeting, and where translations show up instead.
- How-to
Getting local names right: building a caption glossary
A step-by-step guide for clerks to build a glossary of council members, streets, neighborhoods and programs so live captions spell local names right.
- How-to
Using meeting transcripts for minutes and the record
How clerks can use live caption transcripts in TXT and SRT to help prepare minutes, caption posted recordings and answer resident questions.
- How-to
Sending meeting audio to live captions over RTMP or SRT
How to add SentraCaptions as one more destination on the encoder you already stream with, using RTMP or SRT. No new hardware.
- How-to
Chamber audio tips for better captions
Practical audio tips for council chambers and meeting rooms that help automatic live captions and translations come out clearer.
- How-to
Live translation for government meetings: how it works
How live translation for government meetings works, from your encoder to residents' phones, and what to expect from real-time translation.
- How-to
What is live captioning? A guide for public agencies
What is live captioning? A plain guide for public agencies: how real-time captioning works, human vs automatic, WCAG and ADA dates, and how to start.
- How-to
Open captions vs. closed captions for meetings
Open vs closed captions for public meetings: what each means, where each belongs in the chamber, online and on recordings, and how to use both.
- How-to
Captions and translation for water, fire and special district boards
Live captions and translation for special district meetings, from water district board meetings to fire boards, set up with a small staff in mind.
- How-to
How to run a multilingual public meeting
A step-by-step plan for multilingual public meetings: picking languages, agendas, live translated captions, public comment and follow-up.
- How-to
Meeting transcription for government: from live captions to searchable records
How live captions become meeting transcripts for government: formats, uses for minutes and records requests, and limits to keep in mind.
- How-to
Adding subtitles to recorded meeting videos (SRT files explained)
What SRT subtitle files are, how to add subtitles to recorded meeting videos, and how AI subtitles from live captions fit your accessibility plans.
- How-to
How to add live captions to Zoom public meetings
Send English live captions into Zoom closed captions for council and board meetings using third-party closed captioning. Setup steps for clerks and IT.
- How-to
Showing who's speaking in live meeting captions
How speaker names work in SentraCaptions live captions: voices told apart, an operator adds names, and names show on screens, phones, Zoom and transcripts.
- How-to
Human review for live captions: when a few seconds' delay is worth it
SentraCaptions' optional live correction desk lets an operator fix, hold, send or drop captions before they go out, with a 5 to 30 second review delay.
- How-to
Adding live captions to your agency website (no iframe)
Put an accessible live caption box with a language picker on your agency's website, styled to match. A script tag and a div, no iframe.
- How-to
Improving live caption accuracy: glossary, autocorrect and corrections
Practical ways to improve live caption accuracy for public meetings: a glossary of local names, autocorrect rules, live review and transcript fixes.
Buying
- Buying
Budgeting for live captions: what drives the cost
What actually drives the cost of live captions and translation for public meetings, and how to put together a realistic budget request.
- Buying
12 questions to ask a live captioning vendor
Twelve practical questions for clerks and IT staff to ask when comparing live captioning and translation services for public meetings.
- Buying
AI captions vs. human captioners: accuracy, cost and when to use each
AI captioning vs. human captioners for public meetings: what drives automatic captioning accuracy, how costs are structured, and when to use each.
- Buying
What translation services for government cost, and what drives the price
How much does live translation cost for public meetings? The factors that drive the price of translation services for government, and how to budget.
- Buying
How to test live captions with your own meeting recording
Before you choose a live captioning vendor, test it on a recording of your own meeting. What to send, what to check and what a test can't tell you.