To ensure the quality and availability of educational interpreters. This bill requires that, by November 30, 2004, the Washington Professional Educator Standards Board shall conduct a comprehensive review and analysis of the following options and make recommendations to the governor, the legislature, the superintendent of public instruction, and the state board of education regarding the following options: requiring national or state certification for all educational interpreters for deaf students and hard of hearing students; designating educational interpreters as an education staff assistant; requiring the state board of education to establish competencies for educational interpreters; and any other option that the Washington professional educator standards board deems viable to increase and maintain the quality and availability of educational interpreters in a fiscally responsible manner.   Official Text and Analysis.

By Terri Thurston, Carol Carrothers, WA Sensory Disabilities Services; Robin Taylor, North Central Educational Service District; Larry Davis, SBE; Denise Marychild, WA School for the Deaf; Jennifer Wallace, Professional Education Standards Board; Lucinda Young, WEA; and Greg Williams, OSPI. They testified that it is past time for someone to carefully look at the issue of increasing and maintaining the quality of deaf interpreters so that all deaf students can become successful in school. Currently, there are no standards that must be met to become an educational interpreter. This results in a wide range of abilities among interpreters: some have spent their own money to obtain national certification; others have little or no raining. As a result, too many deaf children are unable to access an education because they do not have an interpreter with the necessary skills. All of a deaf child's formal education comes through that one person, the interpreter. It is essential that the interpreter has the highest quality of skills so that the child can have a true opportunity to learn. In 1996, the State Board of Education created competencies for Braille instructors, and perhaps that process might provide a model for this one.

By Doug Nelson, PSE. He testified that this task is not part of the core mission of the PESB and would require additional time and resources for the PESB.
Testimony against: none offered.

To add another option for the PESB to study: requiring the OSPI to partner with higher education to provide a training program for deaf interpreters through video conferences, on-line courses and face-to-face classes. A technical correction is made to correct terminology.

Concerning educational interpreters.

To remove from consideration options that would require education interpreters to have baccalaureate or higher degrees. It removes an option that would require state or national certification and replaces the language with a reference to national registry standards, moves the study from the Professional Educator Standards Board to the OSPI, and has the OSPI report to appropriate legislative committees instead of the entire Legislature.

(educational interpreters).