AN ACT Relating to educational interpreters; amending RCW 28A.410.271; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.155 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.155 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The legislature finds that there is an entire continuum of sign languages and sign systems used by deaf persons in the United States.

(2) The parent or guardian of a child who is deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing may request a specific sign language or sign system in the child's individualized education program.

(3) A school district that is required to develop an individualized education program as required by federal law must give priority to a request authorized by subsection (2) of this section in the provision of educational interpreters.

(4) An educational interpreter, as defined in RCW 28A.410.271, must comply with the sign language or sign system specified in the child's individualized education program.

Sec. 2.  RCW 28A.410.271 and 2013 c 151 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section.

(a) "Educational interpreters" means school district employees, whether certificated or classified, providing sign language ((translation)) either interpretation or transliteration, or both, and further explanation of concepts introduced by the teacher for students who are deaf, deaf-blind, or ((hearing impaired)) hard of hearing.

(b) "Educational interpreter assessment" means an assessment ((that includes both written assessment and performance assessment that is offered by a national organization of professional sign language interpreters and transliterators, and is designed to assess performance in more than one sign system or sign language)) of K-12 job-related knowledge; either proficiency in voice-to-sign interpreting or transliteration, or both; and either sign-to-voice interpreting proficiency or satisfactory understanding of various types of sign systems and sign language.

(d) "Transliteration" means conveying one language in a different modality of the same language.

(2)(a) The professional educator standards board shall adopt standards for educational interpreters ((and)).

(b) The board shall identify and publicize educational interpreter assessments that are available and meet the ((definition)) requirements in this section, such as the educational sign skills evaluation and the educational interpreter performance assessment. Each assessment must be designed to assess proficiency in more than one sign system or sign language.

(c) The board shall establish a performance standard for each educational interpreter assessment for the purposes of this section, defining what constitutes a minimum assessment result.

(3) By the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, educational interpreters who are employed by school districts must have successfully achieved the performance standard established by the professional educator standards board on one of the educational interpreter assessments identified by the board. The educational interpreter must be evaluated in the sign system or sign language used by the educational interpreter.

(4) ((By December 31, 2013, the professional educator standards board shall recommend to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, how to appropriately use the national interpreter certification and the educational interpreter performance assessment for educational interpreters in Washington public schools.

(5))) The provisions of this section do not apply to educational interpreters employed to interpret a sign system or sign language for which no educational interpreter assessment has been identified by the professional educator standards board.

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