1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; modifying interpreter requirements for deaf students;
1.3 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 122A.31, subdivision 1, by adding a 
1.4 	subdivision.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 122A.31, subdivision 1, is amended to 
1.7 	read:
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Requirements for American sign language/English interpreters.
 1.9 	(a) Except as provided under subdivision 1a and in addition to any other requirements 
1.10 	that a school district establishes, any person employed to provide American sign 
1.11 	language/English interpreting or sign transliterating services on a full-time or part-time 
1.12 	basis for a school district after July 1, 2000, must:
1.13 	(1) hold current interpreter and transliterator certificates awarded by the Registry 
1.14 	of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), or the general level interpreter proficiency certificate 
1.15 	awarded by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), or a comparable state 
1.16 	certification from the commissioner of education; and
1.17 	(2) satisfactorily complete an interpreter/transliterator training program affiliated 
1.18 	with an accredited educational institution.
1.19 	(b) New graduates of an interpreter/transliterator program affiliated with an 
1.20 	accredited education institution shall be granted a two-year provisional certificate by 
1.21 	the commissioner. During the two-year provisional period, the interpreter/transliterator 
1.22 	must develop and implement an education plan in collaboration with a mentor under 
1.23 	paragraph (c).
2.1 	(c) A mentor of a provisionally certified interpreter/transliterator must be an 
2.2 	interpreter/transliterator who has either NAD level IV or V certification or RID 
2.3 	certified interpreter and certified transliterator certification and have at least three 
2.4 	years interpreting/transliterating experience in any educational setting. The mentor, in 
2.5 	collaboration with the provisionally certified interpreter/transliterator, shall develop and 
2.6 	implement an education plan designed to meet the requirements of paragraph (a), clause 
2.7 	(1), and include a weekly on-site mentoring process.
2.8 	(d) Consistent with the requirements of this paragraph, a person holding a 
2.9 	provisional certificate may apply to the commissioner for one time-limited extension. The 
2.10 	commissioner, in consultation with the Commission Serving Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing 
2.11 	People, must grant the person a time-limited extension of the provisional certificate based 
2.12 	on the following documentation:
2.13 	(1) letters of support from the person's mentor, a parent of a pupil the person serves, 
2.14 	the special education director of the district in which the person is employed, and a 
2.15 	representative from the regional service center of the deaf and hard-of-hearing;
2.16 	(2) records of the person's formal education, training, experience, and progress on 
2.17 	the person's education plan; and
2.18 	(3) an explanation of why the extension is needed.
2.19 	As a condition of receiving the extension, the person must comply with a plan 
2.20 	and the accompanying time line for meeting the requirements of this subdivision. A 
2.21 	committee composed of the director of the Minnesota Resource Center Serving Deaf and 
2.22 	Hard-of-Hearing, or the director's designee, a representative of the Minnesota Association 
2.23 	of Deaf Citizens, a representative of the Minnesota Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf, 
2.24 	and other appropriate persons selected by the commissioner must develop the plan and 
2.25 	time line for the person receiving the extension.
2.26 	(e) A school district may employ only an interpreter/transliterator who has been 
2.27 	certified under paragraph (a) or (b), or for whom a time-limited extension has been 
2.28 	granted under paragraph (d), or a person qualified as an interpreter/transliterator under 
2.29 	subdivision 1a.

2.30 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2006-2007 school year and 
2.31 	later. 

2.32 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 122A.31, is amended by adding a subdivision 
2.33 	to read:
2.34 		Subd. 1a.Qualified deaf and hard-of-hearing interpreters/transliterators.  In 
2.35 	addition to employing a qualified interpreter/transliterator under subdivision 1, a school 
3.1 	district or charter school also may employ as an interpreter/transliterator a person who is 
3.2 	deaf or hard of hearing and holds a current reverse skills certificate (RSC) or a certified 
3.3 	deaf interpreter (CDI) certificate awarded by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf 
3.4 	(RID). The qualified deaf or hard-of-hearing person must be able to interpret between 
3.5 	American sign language and English-based sign language or transliterate between spoken 
3.6 	English and a signed code for English. The district or charter school may employ a 
3.7 	qualified person under this subdivision for a broad range of interpreting or transliterating 
3.8 	assignments. 

3.9 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2006-2007 school year and 
3.10 	later.