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Community (Freelance) and Staff Interpreters working with adults: Two bills were introduced in the Pennsylvania House & Senate, to establish minimum standards for persons employed as Sign Language Interpreters. The Bills were: House Bill 445 and Senate Bill 297. In the fall of 2003 both bills passed unanimously and were then referred to committees.
House Bill 445, printer number 4198, after being unanimously approved by both legislatures, was signed into law by Governor Rendell on July 2, 2004 and is now called Act 57 of 2006. It took effect on July 1, 2005.
This Act requires individuals wishing to provide professional sign language interpreting or transliterating services to be registered with the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The registration procedure requires: (a) a completed application; (b) payment of any required fees ($100); (c) and proof that the applicant has passed an examination approved by the Office. The registration shall be for a period not longer than 2 years and may be renewed at a fee of $100. The specific exemptions apply to religious interpreters, emergency interpreters, interpreting interns, out-of-state certified interpreters, non-certified interpreters approved by client and volunteer interpreters. Additionally, educational interpreters (K-12) are exempt from this act but are required to take the EIPA and achieve a rating of 70% or higher.
The Act also provides a privilege in any legal proceeding for confidential information obtained by the interpreter. The interpreter would hold any legal privilege that the individual receiving the interpretation holds. Some specifically listed violations of the act would include obtaining a State registration or renewal of a registration through fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; being convicted of a felony or a crime, in this Commonwealth or other jurisdiction, relating to the provision of transliterating or interpreting services; and committing fraud, gross negligence or misconduct relating to transliterating or interpreting services.
Regulations are being written. The credentials necessary to obtain State Registration will be outlined in the Regulations.
View the interpreter database at:
Community (Freelance) and Staff Interpreters—Legal Assignments Act 172 of 2006 becomes effective in January 2007 and requires all interpreters, of both spoken and signed languages, to be certified and registered to work in the legal system. This law applies to both arrest situations and courtroom appearances. For further information see the Pennsylvania Supreme Court website.
Educational Interpreters K-12 The Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 92 of 2006, which required the PA Department of Education to create regulations setting standards for all educational interpreters employed in Pennsylvania schools. These regulations are now in effect and require educational sign language interpreters to take and pass the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment, at a level of 3.5.
Excerpted below is the section pertaining to educational interpreters:
(b) Educational interpreters. An educational interpreter is an individual who provides students who are deaf or hard of hearing with interpreting or transliterating services in an educational setting. (1) To serve as an educational interpreter, an individual shall meet the qualifications in subparagraph (i) or (ii) and subparagraph (iii): (i) Achieve and provide evidence of a score of 3.5 on the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) for the appropriate grade level to which the person has been assigned. (ii) Be a qualified sign language interpreter or qualified transliterator under the Sign Language Interpreter and Transliterator Registration Act (63 P. S. §§ 1725.1--1725.12) and its implementing regulations. (iii) Provide evidence of a minimum of 20 hours of staff development activities relating to interpreting or transliterating services annually. (2) The Board, in consultation with the Department, will review the EIPA score requirement every 2 years.
Full Text can be accessed at: |
