Senate Bill No. 641
(By Senator Facemyer)
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[Introduced February 20, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18-5-18f, relating
to school-based interpreters generally; and establishing
standards for school-based interpreters.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-5-18f, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18f. Requirements for American sign language and English
interpreters.
(a) In addition to any other requirements that a county board
of education establishes, any person employed to provide American
sign language or English interpreting or sign transliterating
services on a full-time or part-time basis for a school district after the first day of July, two thousand eight must:
(1) Hold current interpreter and transliterator certificates
awarded by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (hereinafter
referred to as "RID"), or the general level interpreter proficiency
certificate awarded by the National Association of the Deaf
(hereinafter referred to as "NAD"); and
(2) Satisfactorily complete an interpreter or transliterator
training program affiliated with an accredited educational
institution.
(b) New graduates of an interpreter or transliterator program
affiliated with an accredited education institution and current
professional personnel employed as interpreters and transliterators
by a county board of education who do not meet the level of
interpreter proficiency required by RID or NAD may be granted a
two-year provisional certificate. During the two-year provisional
period, the interpreter or transliterator must develop and
implement an education plan in collaboration with the county
superintendent of schools and a mentor who must be an interpreter
or transliterator who has either NAD level IV or V certification or
RID certified interpreter and certified transliterator
certification and have at least three years interpreting or
transliterating experience in any educational setting. The mentor,
in collaboration with the provisionally certified interpreter or
transliterator, and the county superintendent of schools shall develop and implement an education plan designed to meet the
requirements of subsection (a) of this section and include a weekly
on-site mentoring process.
(c) In addition, a person holding a provisional certificate
may apply to the commissioner for one time-limited extension. The
county superintendent of schools, in consultation with the West
Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, must grant
the person a time-limited extension of the provisional certificate
based on the following documentation:
(1) Letters of support from the person's mentor, a parent of
a pupil the person serves, the special education director of the
county in which the person is employed, and a representative from
the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing;
(2) Records of the person's formal education, training,
experience and progress on the person's education plan; and
(3) An explanation of why the extension is needed.
(d) As a condition of receiving the extension, the person must
comply with a plan and the accompanying time line for meeting the
requirements of this subdivision.
(e) A committee composed of the director of the West Virginia
Commission for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, the county
superintendent of schools or his or her designee, a parent of a
child receiving interpreting services in the county, and other
appropriate persons selected by the county superintendent of schools must develop the plan and time line for the person
receiving the extension.
(f) A county board of education may employ only an interpreter
or transliterator who has been certified under subsections (a) or
(b), or for whom a time limited extension has been granted under
subsection(d) of this section.
(g) In addition to any other requirements that a county school
board establishes, any person employed to provide oral
transliterating or cued speech transliterating services on a
full-time or part-time basis for a school district after the first
day of July, two thousand eight, must hold a current applicable
transliterator certificate awarded by a national certifying
association.
(h) To provide oral or cued speech transliterator services on
a full-time or part-time basis, a person employed in a school
district must comply with the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section. The State Superintendent of Schools shall grant a
nonrenewable, two-year certificate to a school district on behalf
of a person who has not yet attained a current applicable
transliterator certificate under subsection (a) of this section.
A person for whom a nonrenewable, two-year certificate is issued
must work under the direction of a licensed teacher who is skilled
in language development of individuals who are deaf or
hard-of-hearing. A person for whom a nonrenewable, two-year certificate is issued also must enroll in a state approved training
program and demonstrate progress towards the certification required
under subsection (a) of this section sufficient for the person to
be certified at the end of the two year period.
(h) A person holding a provisional certificate may apply to
the State Superintendent of Schools for one time limited extension.
The State Superintendent of Schools, in consultation with the West
Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing must grant the
person a time limited extension of the provisional certificate
based if the following documentation is provided:
(1) Letters of support from the person's mentor, a parent of
a pupil the person serves and the special education director of the
district in which the person is employed;
(2) Records of the person's formal education, training,
experience, and progress on the person's education plan; and
(3) An explanation of why the extension is needed.
(i) As a condition of receiving the extension, the person must
comply with a plan and the accompanying time line for meeting the
requirements of this subsection. A committee composed of the State
Superintendent of Schools or his or her designee, a representative
of the deaf community, a holder of a current interpreter and
transliterator certificate, and other appropriate persons selected
by the State Superintendent of Schools must develop the plan and
time line for the person receiving the extension. The Department of Education and the regional service areas shall work together to
ensure that ongoing staff development training for educational
interpreters and transliterators is provided throughout the state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish qualification
standards for school interpreters. Under the bill, effective on
July 1, 2008 all school based interpreters must hold a
certificate
awarded by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or the general
level interpreter proficiency certificate awarded by the National
Association of the Deaf. Procedures are provided to allow time for
current professional interpreters and recent graduates to meet the
new criteria. A county board of education is prohibited from
hiring an interpreter who does not meet the new criteria after July
1, 2008 with the exception of new graduates.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.