Editing Plain language (section)

===21st century===
PLAIN provided guidance to federal [[Executive agency|executive agencies]] when President [[Barack Obama]] signed the [[Plain Writing Act of 2010]], which required federal executive agencies to put all new and revised covered documents into plain language.<ref>{{USPL|111|274}}§4(b)</ref> The Act's sponsor, U.S. Representative [[Bruce Braley]], noted upon its passage that "The writing of documents in the standard vernacular English language will bolster and increase the accountability of government within America and will continue to more effectively save time and money in this country."<ref name="ABC News">{{cite web|title=Obama Signs 'Plain Writing' Law|url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/obama-signs-law-understand/story?id=11902841|work=ABC World News with Diane Sawyer|publisher=ABC News|access-date=17 March 2013}}</ref>

Plain language is also gaining traction in U.S. courts and [[legal aid]] agencies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dyson |first1=Dana D. |last2=Schellenberg |first2=Kathryn |title=Access to Justice: The Readability of Legal Services Corporation Legal Aid Internet Services |journal=Journal of Poverty |date=4 March 2017 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=142–165 |doi=10.1080/10875549.2016.1186773|s2cid=156782675 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McLernon |first1=Sean |title=Why Courts Need to Embrace Plain Language |journal=Georgetown Journal on Poverty and Law |date=2016 |volume=24 |page=381}}</ref> California was the first state to adopt plain language court forms and instructions, for which it received the 2003 [[Burton Awards for Legal Achievement|Burton Award]] for Outstanding Reform.<ref>"About", Civil Jury Instructions Resource Center. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from: www.courts.ca.gov/partners/313.htm</ref> A 2006 comparative study of plain language court forms concluded that "plain language court forms and instructions are better understood, easier to use, and more economical".<ref>Mindlin, Maria. "Is Plain Language better? A Comparative Readability Study of Plain Language Court Forms", Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, Vol. 10, 2005-2006. Retrieved November 28, 2011, from: www.transcend.net/library/html/PLStudy.html</ref>

The [[European Union]] provides standards for making information easy to read and understand.<ref>European standards for making information easy to read and understand. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from: https://www.inclusion-europe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EN_Information_for_all.pdf</ref> The rules are comparable to the rules for plain language. Based in Germany there is a dictionary for plain language called Hurraki.<ref>Hurraki.org Plain Language Dictionary. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from: http://hurraki.org/english</ref> In [[France]], a 2002 decision by the [[Constitutional Council (France)|Constitutional Council]] recognized a constitutional goal of ensuring the "clarity and intelligibility" of French law.<ref>Cons. const., n° 2001-455 DC, 12 janv. 2002. from: http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/acces-par-date/decisions-depuis-1959/2002/2001-455-dc/decision-n-2001-455-dc-du-12-janvier-2002.668.html</ref> In 2013 the Israeli Knesset passed service accessibility regulations which mandated the use of simple language and/or language simplification (Hebrew = פישוט לשוני),<ref>{{cite web |title=תקנות שוויון זכויות לאנשים עם מוגבלות (התאמות נגישות לשירות), תשע"ג-5102 |url=https://www.justice.gov.il/Units/NetzivutShivyon/documents/1160_takhanegishutlesherut.pdf |website=Israel Department of Justice |publisher=The Israel Department of Justice |access-date=15 October 2019 |ref=p. 7}}</ref> which were subsequently codified in 2015 for implementation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Accessibility of the built environment: Communication (in Hebrew) |url=https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/legalinfo/israeli_accessibility_standards_pdf/he/sitedocs_tekenyisraeli1918helek4_feb15.pdf |publisher=The Standards Institution of Israel |access-date=15 October 2019 |ref=p. 14}}</ref>

[[ISO]] has formed a Working Group within Technical Committee [[ISO/TC 37]] to develop plain language standards and guidelines. Their work began officially towards the end of 2019. It has published standard ISO 24495-1 in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 24495-1:2023: Plain language – Part 1: Governing principles and guidelines |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/78907.html |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=ISO |language=en}}</ref>