Each educational interpreter who serves students with hearing
loss in the public schools shall be of good character, as defined in Section
21B-15 of the Code. Each educational interpreter shall be subject to that
portion of Section 24-5 of the Code that requires physical fitness and freedom
from tuberculosis as may be required by Illinois Department of Public Health
rules (77 Ill. Adm. Code 696; Control of Tuberculosis Code). Each educational
interpreter shall hold a statement of approval or endorsement from the State
Superintendent of Education, which shall be identified as valid either for sign
language interpreting or oral transliteration. Each individual who is required
to hold a statement of approval or endorsement shall submit an application to
the State Superintendent, along with the fee required under Section 21B-40 of
the Code for those applicants who hold a PEL and evidence that the individual
meets the requirements applicable to the type of approval sought.
a) Approval Criteria
1) Each applicant for approval as an
educational interpreter either for sign language interpreter or oral
transliteration shall meet one of the following criteria:
A) have completed 60 semester hours of
college credit from one or more regionally accredited institutions of higher
education;
B) hold an associate's
degree issued by a regionally accredited institution of higher
education;
C) hold a high school
diploma or its recognized equivalent and have achieved the score identified as
passing by the
State Board on one of the examinations for paraprofessionals
discussed in Section
25.510(b);
D) hold a high school diploma or its
recognized equivalent and have passed the written examination administered by
the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID);
E) hold a high school diploma and have passed
the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Test of English Proficiency;
or
F) hold a high school diploma
and have achieved a level 2 or above on the Interpreter Skills Assessment
Screening.
2) Each
applicant for approval as a sign language interpreter also shall have:
A) attained a rating of Level
3.5 or above on the Educational
Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA);
B) maintained a valid certification from the
RID; or
C) maintained a valid Board
for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI) Basic Certification or higher issued by a
state that is a licensed user of the BEI system.
3) Each applicant for approval for oral
transliteration also shall have attained Transliteration Skills Certification
at Level 3 or above.
4) If the
applicant is unable to provide evidence of meeting one of the criteria set
forth in subsection (a)(2), a one-time, interim approval shall be granted if
each of the following conditions are met. The interim approval is valid until
June 30 following two years of the approval being issued. The provisions of
this subsection (a)(4) shall not apply to individuals who held initial approval
issued prior to June 30, 2013.
A) The
applicant provides evidence of meeting one of the criteria listed in subsection
(a)(1).
B) The applicant has
attained a rating of at least Level
3.0 on the
EIPA.
b)
Validity; Renewal
Approval shall be valid for five fiscal years, subject to the
provisions of Section 21B-20 of the Code, and shall be renewable upon
presentation of evidence that, during the five-year period of the approval's
validity, the individual has completed 50 clock hours of professional
development activities (see Section
25.800). Sign language
interpreter approvals shall be renewed between April 1 and June 30 of each
renewal cycle. If the approval is not renewed during this time period it will
expire and any required professional development must be completed prior to a
new approval being issued.
c) Revocation or Suspension of Approval or
other Permissible Sanction
The provisions of Section
25.510(c) shall
apply to the revocation or suspension of approval or other permissible sanction
for educational interpreters.
