Standards
Schools
State or Nat'l
Courts
Texas Court Interpreter Certification (CIC), or the RID SC:L
None Required
Off
Notes
Source: Texas Education Agency Rule 19 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 89, Subchapter AA, Section 89.1131.(d) Source: Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Section 38.31, 38.22; Texas Civil Practice and Remedies, Code Chapter 21; Texas Government Code, Chapter 57.
Licensure
No, while there is state certification, it is only required for court and educational settings.
Governing Body
Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Division for Rehabilitation Services, Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, Texas Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI)
Website(s)
Fee(s)
Test of English Proficiency: $75, Basic Performance Test: $125, Advanced Performance Test: $150, Master Performance Test: $175, Level III-Intermediary Performance Test: $50, Level V-Intermediary Performance Test: $50, MSS Performance Test: $80, OC:B Performance Test: $80, OC:C Performance Test: $100, OC:V Performance Test: $50, SEE Performance Test: $80, Annual maintenance fee: $50, if late by less than 90 days: $75, if late more than 90 days: $100
Board
The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is composed of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Three members of the commission must be persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, two must be parents of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, two must be professionals serving persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, and two must be persons from the general public. A majority of the members shall be deaf. The commission shall appoint an advisory board (BEI) of seven persons to assist in administering the interpreter certification program. A board member may not receive compensation, but is entitled to reimbursement of the travel expenses incurred by the member while conducting the business of the board, as provided in the General Appropriations Act.
Qualifications
(a) To apply for or to take any examination for a BEI Certificate, an applicant must: (1) be at least 18 years old; (2) have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent; (3) not have a criminal conviction that could qualify as grounds for denial, probation, suspension, or revocation of a BEI certificate, or other disciplinary action against any holder of a BEI certificate. (b) To take the written Test of English Proficiency, an applicant must have: earned at least 30 credit hours from an accredited college or university, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. (c) To take a BEI performance test, an applicant must have: earned a passing score on the Test of English Proficiency, and earned an associate degree and/or a minimum of 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher, unless the applicant is applying for a specialty certificate (d) To apply for and to be issued a BEI certificate, an applicant must have: earned an associate degree and/or a minimum of 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher, and earned a passing score on the requisite examination for the certificate level sought.
CEUs
5 year cycles, the amount of CEUs was increased over several years resulting in the current requirements of 10 CEUs (100 hours) total required with at least 2.0 CEUs in ethics, 6.0 CEUs in interpreting, 2.0 CEUs in general (college credit courses, in service trainings, employer orientations, other professional field trainings or K-12 and post secondary education-related trainings.)
Special Provisions
A BEI certificate holder who holds an active and valid BEI certificate awarded as a result of proceedings initiated before January 1, 2012, is exempt from the educational or degree requirements in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, as long as the BEI certificate remains active and valid.