HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4416
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 26, 2024.
The committee on Education, to whom was referred the petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 437) of Antonio F. D. Cabral and others
relative to the training, assessment, and assignment of qualified school
interpreters in educational settings, reports recommending that the
accompanying bill (House, No. 4416) ought to pass.
For the committee,
DENISE C. GARLICK. 1 of 4
FILED ON: 2/5/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4416
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to the training, assessment, and assignment of qualified school interpreters in
educational settings.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the
2following section:-
3 Section 37. Training, assessment, and assignment of qualified school interpreters in
4educational settings
5 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless
6the context clearly indicates otherwise:
7 “Department”, the department of elementary and secondary education;
8 “Person with limited English proficiency (Person with LEP)”, an individual who has a
9limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English because the person uses primarily a
10language other than English. This includes parents or guardians of minor children with LEP,
11regardless of the children’s LEP status; 2 of 4
12 “Interpretation”, the immediate oral rendering of an utterance from a source language
13into a target language;
14 “Interpreter”, a person who has demonstrated language proficiency in English and at least
15one other language and is readily able to interpret spoken language from English to the target
16language and from the target language to English, and who also has knowledge and
17understanding of the pertinent subject matter to be translated, the role of the interpreter in school
18settings, and ethics and confidentiality with respect to interpretation;
19 “Parent”, a natural, adoptive, or foster parent of a child, a guardian, or an individual
20acting in the place of a natural or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other
21relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child’s
22welfare;
23 “Specialized meeting”, a meeting requiring a high level of interpretation skills including
24but not limited to discussion regarding: an Individualized Education Program (IEP); a safety plan
25or behavioral intervention plan (BIP); matters regarding school discipline; matters regarding
26special education due process; placement in an English Learner Education (ELE) program;
27development of or changes to an Individual 504 plan; addressing bullying complaints; or the use
28of physical restraint or seclusion of students;
29 “Standard meeting”, a parent conference, community meeting, or other school gathering
30that does not have legal context.
31 “Tier 1 interpreter”, an interpreter whose language proficiency need not be formally
32assessed; 3 of 4
33 “Tier 2 interpreter”, an interpreter who, after a formal assessment process to be
34determined by the department, demonstrates an understanding of basic educational terminology
35used in school settings, participates in ongoing professional development in interpreting, and
36exhibits tier 2 competency pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and department regulations;
37 “Tier 3 interpreter”, an interpreter who, after a formal assessment process to be
38determined by the department, understands specialized educational terminology used in school
39settings, participates in ongoing professional development in interpreting, and exhibits tier 3
40competency pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and department regulations.
41 (b) Consistent with the recommendations of the school interpreters task force created
42under section 81 of chapter 154 of the acts of 2018, the department shall: (1) develop and
43administer a system for training, assessing, and determining qualifications of interpreters in
44educational settings with assurance that tier 3 interpreters shall be used for all specialized
45meetings, tier 2 or 3 interpreters may be used for all standard meetings and tier 1 interpreters
46may be used during spontaneous, unannounced meetings or communication scenarios that occur
47in schools when a tier 3 or 2 interpreter is not available; (2) develop and make available an
48educational course of sufficient duration that includes coursework and field experience to
49support development of the key competencies and knowledge required of interpreters in schools;
50and (3) create a publicly accessible mechanism to identify tier 3 interpreters for scheduled
51specialized meetings.
52 (c) The department shall adopt regulations necessary to administer a system for training,
53assessing, and determining qualifications of interpreters in school settings to improve access for
54parents with LEP. The regulations shall be consistent with the recommendations of the school 4 of 4
55interpreters task force created under section 81 of chapter 154 of the acts of 2018, and shall
56include, but not be limited to:
57 (1) a process for assessing the language proficiency of interpreters seeking to interpret in
58school settings, including required levels of competency necessary to obtain tier 2 and tier 3
59interpreting status, with grandfathering allowed for school employees whose primary job
60responsibility has been to serve as an interpreter for one or more years;
61 (2) required hours of supervised field experience for tier 3 interpreters; and
62 (3) procedures for implementation of the publicly accessible mechanism created pursuant
63to subsection 1 of this section to identify and secure tier 3 interpreters for scheduled specialized
64meetings.
65 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage; provided, however, that the
66department may administer a phased implementation of the provisions of subsection (b) of this
67act to a diverse number of school districts, subject to appropriation, and provided further that
68final implementation of all sections of this act shall take effect statewide when certified as
69appropriate by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education in a report to the
70general court.