North Carolina HB 854: Broadband/USF Study.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 854
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/6/25

Short Title: Require Licensure of Educational Interpreters. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 10, 2025
*H854-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REMOVE THE EXEMPTION FOR EDUCATIONAL INTERPRETERS OR 2
TRANSLITERATORS FROM THE LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NORTH 3
CAROLINA INTERPRETER AND TRANSLITERATOR LICENSURE ACT. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 90D-3 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 90D-3. Definitions. 7
The following definitions apply in this Chapter: 8
... 9
(3) Educational interpreter or educational transliterator. – A person who provides 10
accessible communication, using the most understandable language model, to 11
individuals in prekindergarten through grade 12 or in any institution of higher 12
education. 13
(4) Interpreter. – A person who practices the act of interpreting as defined in this 14
section. The term includes an educational interpreter as defined in subdivision 15
(3) of this section. 16
... 17
(9) Transliterator. – A person who practices the art of transliterating as defined in 18
this section. The term includes an educational transliterator as defined in 19
subdivision (3) of this section." 20
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 90D-4(b) reads as rewritten: 21
"(b) The provisions of this Chapter do not apply to: 22
... 23
(5) Educational interpreters or transliterators. 24
...." 25
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 90D-7 reads as rewritten: 26
"§ 90D-7. Requirements for licensure. 27
(a) Upon application to the Board and the payment of the required fees, an applicant may 28
be licensed as an interpreter or transliterator if the applicant meets all of the following 29
qualifications: 30
(1) Is 18 years of age or older. 31
(2) Is of good moral character as determined by the Board. 32
(3) Meets one of the following criteria: 33
a. Repealed by Session Laws 2023-137, s. 45(a), effective December 1, 34
2023, and applicable to licenses and provisional licenses issued or 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 854-Second Edition
renewed by the North Carolina Interpreter and Transliterator 1
Licensing Board after that date. 2
b. Is nationally certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., 3
(RID), or another nationally recognized body that issues certificates or 4
assessments for interpreting approved by the Board by rule. 5
c. Holds a valid Testing, Evaluation and Certification Unit, Inc., 6
(TECUnit) national certification in cued language transliteration. 7
d. Repealed by Session Laws 2023-137, s. 45(a), effective December 1, 8
2023, and applicable to licenses and provisional licenses issued or 9
renewed by the North Carolina Interpreter and Transliterator 10
Licensing Board after that date. 11
e. Holds a current Cued Language Transliterator State Level Assessment 12
(CLTSLA) level 3 or above classification. 13
f. Holds a current Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment 14
(EIPA) level 4.0 or above classification and passed the EIPA written 15
test. 16
(b) Repealed by Session Laws 2014-115, s. 42(b), effective August 11, 2014. 17
(c) The Department of Public Safety may provide a criminal record check to the Board 18
for a person who has applied for a new, provisional, or renewal license through the Board. The 19
Board shall provide to the Department of Public Safety, along with the request, the fingerprints 20
of the applicant, any additional information required by the Department of Public Safety, and a 21
form signed by the applicant consenting to the check of the criminal record and to the use of the 22
fingerprints and other identifying information required by the State or national repositories. The 23
applicant's fingerprints shall be forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation for a search of the 24
State's criminal history record file, and the State Bureau of Investigation shall forward a set of 25
the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check. The 26
Board shall keep all information pursuant to this subdivision privileged, in accordance with 27
applicable State law and federal guidelines, and the information shall be confidential and shall 28
not be a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. 29
The Department of Public Safety may charge each applicant a fee for conducting the checks 30
of criminal history records authorized by this subsection." 31
SECTION 1.(d) G.S. 90D-8 reads as rewritten: 32
"§ 90D-8. Provisional license. 33
(a) Upon application to the Board and the payment of the required fees, an applicant may 34
be issued a one-time provisional license as an interpreter or transliterator if the applicant meets 35
all of the following qualifications: 36
(1) Is at least 18 years of age. 37
(2) Is of good moral character as determined by the Board. 38
(3) Completes two continuing education units approved by the Board. These units 39
must be completed fo