The NCAD Advocate

NC Association

of the Deaf

August 2021 - Issue 21

Upcoming NCAD Board Meeting!

Saturday, August 28

9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

DSDHH, Raleigh Regional Center

3060 Hammond Business Place, Suite 141

Raleigh, NC

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Educational Interpreters

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE IS HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL AND RICHLY COMPLEX.

It takes between 6 – 10 years for individuals to become fluent in American Sign Language. It is alarming that five community colleges in NC offer 2-year interpreting training programs (ITP). Students graduating from ITP generally do not pass the national RID exam (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) after completing the program.

American Sign Language (ASL) students are not just learning a new language but in a different modality. Also, there is research from the Foreign Service Institute that explains the difficulty of learning ASL. Results demonstrated that ASL to be a category four language, which is among the more difficult foreign languages to learn, ranking with languages like Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese (Jacobs, 1996).

Reference: Jacobs, R. (1996). Just how hard is it to learn ASL: The case for ASL as a truly foreign language. In Ceil Lucas (Ed.), Multicultural aspects of sociolinguistics in Deaf communities (pp. 183-226). Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.

CHANGES FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOL INTERPRETERS, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2021

In 2015, North Carolina Association for the Deaf recognized a serious need for better qualifications amongst interpreters within the public school system. As a result, an email was sent to the Department of Sensory Support and Assistive Technology in November 2015 to begin a discussion.

For over a decade, the minimum requirements for public school interpreters (educational interpreters) for North Carolina:

a high school degree or a GED
a minimum EIPA score of 3.0: Educational Interpreter Proficiency Assessment

*Note: Public school interpreters are called Educational Interpreters. They are not “community interpreters.” Educational interpreters are not licensed because they are exempted from NC interpreting licensure law.

In 2016, it was reported that there were 215 educational interpreters in the state of North Carolina and countless communication / language facilitators who were taking on the interpreting roles. Communication / language facilitators usually are teacher’s assistant with no interpreting background.

What does a minimum EIPA score of 3.0 mean? An educational interpreter with a 3.0 EIPA score only translates 50-59% of the information.

*Note: Educational Interpreters take the EIPA – this is not comparable to the national RID interpreting exam.

In May 2016, the Section Chief of Sensory Support and Assistive Technology arranged a quarterly stakeholder meeting to begin a dialogue of raising the minimum requirements for educational interpreters. 22 non-deaf people were invited, whereas only one Deaf person, representing NC Association of the Deaf, was present.

When the state holds stakeholder meetings, the public has a right to attend. Six Deaf citizens registered to attend the next stakeholder meeting scheduled in November 2016. The Section Chief of Sensory Support and Assistive Technology immediately canceled and made a formal announcement that a small advisory group has been implemented. A representative from NC Association of the Deaf continued to attend. Again, the NCAD representative was the only Deaf person on their “smaller, implemented advisory group”.

NC Association of the Deaf proposed:

Minimum EIPA score of 3.5 before hiring and 4.0 EIPA score by the third year of employment
2-year college degree or 60 semester credits of study or 90 quarter credits before hiring
Licensed with the NC Interpreter and Transliterator Licensing Board

NC Department of Public Instruction proposed:

All newly hired interpreters must have:

Minimum EIPA score of 3.3 before hiring and 3.5 EIPA score by the third year of employment
AA degree in Interpreting or a related field

All interpreters, between 3.0 - 3.2 EIPA score, who are already employed / contracted in the system:

have three years to reach a 3.3
and an additional three years to achieve a 3.5, the new minimum standard requirement

An Announcement from NC DPI's Section Chief of Sensory Support and Assistive Technology:

The Exceptional Children Division is pleased to announce the State Board of Education has passed the proposed new minimum standards for educational interpreters/transliterators. Effective July 1, 2021, the following will be required for all newly hired or contracted educational interpreters.

Educational Interpreter I must have a minimum Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) score of a 3.3 for educational interpreters or a TECUnit score of a level 2 for cued language transliterators. In addition, in order to maintain employment, the educational interpreter/transliterator must meet the requirements for Educational Interpreter II within three years of employment. Educational Interpreter I is an entry-level classification. The suggested pay grade for this classification is Salary Grade 64.

Educational Interpreter II must have an EIPA score of a 3.5 for educational interpreters or a TECUnit score of a level 3 for cued language transliterators and a minimum of three years of experience in the educational setting. The suggested pay grade for this classification is Salary Grade 66. An EIPA score of 3.5 is the new minimum standard requirement.

Educational Interpreter III is a new classification. The educational interpreter must have an EIPA score of a 4.0, a cued language transliterator must have a TECUnit score of a level 3, or either may hold a national certification. Five years of experience in the educational setting is also required. The suggested pay grade for this classification is Salary Grade 68.

All the above-listed classifications must now complete 20 hours of professional learning related to interpreting/transliterating annually and hold at least an AA degree in interpreting or a related field. In addition, educational interpreters currently employed or contracted within NC Public Schools and have an EIPA score between 3.0 and 3.2, will have three years to reach a 3.3 and an additional three years to achieve a 3.5, the new minimum standard requirement.

In collaboration with the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Exceptional Children Division will offer direct coaching support for interpreters who are below an EIPA score of 3.5 to help them meet the new standard within the timeframe set. More information about the coaching support and how to register will be forthcoming.

NC Department of Instruction > Exceptional Children Division > Department of Sensory Support and Assistive Technology provides a statewide system of support for the deaf and hard of hearing students, serving as a support to local education agencies, including charter schools, and the two schools for the deaf.

*Note: Two Deaf applicants, one with Master’s degree and another with Ed.S. degree, applied for the statewide consultant positions in June 2018. Both were not hired. Therefore, all statewide consultants for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Program continue to be of non-deaf employees.

To view more information, please click:

https://sites.google.com/dpi.nc.gov/deafhardofhearingprofessionals/home

It will be another six years before NC DPI has all educational interpreters in NC (those who are already in the system) achieve the 3.5 minimum standard requirement.

To view current comparison, state by state:

NC Association of the Deaf would like to share that anyone can request an interpreter with a higher EIPA score for their deaf / hard of hearing child. Please contact NCAD for further information on this.

Parents must verify the qualifications of their child’s interpreter as there is no online directory of Educational Interpreters. Additionally, there is no auditor to verify educational interpreters’ credentials in NC’s 100 counties. As a result, many school districts continue to use teacher aides as interpreters, using titles such as Communication Facilitators or Language Facilitators. If you know a communication/language facilitator interpreting for a Deaf/HoH student, please contact NCAD immediately.

This raises a few concerns for the NC Association of the Deaf:

How will NC DPI hold LEAs accountable in the future? School systems have not been held accountable for the minimum EIPA score of 3.0 in the past. How will the Department of Sensory Support and Assistive Technology hold the school systems accountable to the new State Board standards? Note: State Board standards are only recommendations, not mandates. As Deaf adults, we demand the best. Should deaf students who are just beginning to grow intellectually receive the best? 3.5 EIPA score at 60% access to information is not equal access to education.