STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2668 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the licensing of sign language interpreters and creating a state board for sign language interpreting The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 169 to 2 read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 169 4 SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS 5 Section 8900. Introduction. 6 8901. Definitions. 7 8902. Practice of sign language interpreting. 8 8903. State board for sign language interpreting. 9 8904. Licensing requirements. 10 8905. Exempt persons. 11 § 8900. Introduction. This article applies to the profession of sign 12 language interpreter. The general provisions for all professions 13 contained in article one hundred thirty of this title apply to this 14 article. 15 § 8901. Definitions. As used in this article: 16 (1) "Client" shall mean a deaf, hard of hearing or hearing person for 17 whom an interpreter provides sign language interpretation services or 18 who is applying to be assessed for the purpose of qualifying for a 19 license that will allow such interpreter to provide sign language inter- 20 pretation services. 21 (2) "Board" shall mean the board for sign language interpreting. 22 § 8902. Practice of sign language interpreting. (1) Only a person 23 licensed or otherwise authorized under this article shall practice sign EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05197-01-5
A. 2668 2 1 language interpreting or use the title of sign language interpreter for 2 compensation. 3 (2) No person may, for compensation, provide sign language interpreta- 4 tion services for a client unless the person is licensed by the depart- 5 ment. 6 § 8903. State board for sign language interpreting. (1) A state board 7 for sign language interpreting shall be appointed by the board of 8 regents on recommendation of the commissioner for the purpose of assist- 9 ing the board of regents and the department on matters of professional 10 licensing and professional conduct in accordance with section sixty-five 11 hundred eight of this title. The board shall consist of not less than 12 ten members who shall serve three year terms and shall have a familiar- 13 ity with deaf or hard of hearing matters. Such members shall include: 14 (a) six deaf or hard of hearing individuals who are currently or have 15 previously been clients of a sign language interpreter, one of whom 16 shall be the executive director of the office of professions or a desig- 17 nee of the commissioner; and 18 (b) four sign language interpreters who have been licensed under 19 section eighty-nine hundred four of this article, at least one of whom 20 holds a professional license. 21 (2) In order to maintain high-quality operation of the executive board 22 and also effective implementation of the policy, one highly knowledge- 23 able deaf person may be appointed to the board from out of state, yet 24 working in the state of New York. 25 (3) The board shall promulgate: 26 (a) a code of ethics for sign language interpreters licensed under 27 this article; 28 (b) rules for granting licensing exemptions under section eighty-nine 29 hundred five of this article; 30 (c) industry standards for the licensing of sign language interpret- 31 ers; 32 (d) guidelines for the administration of testing for the department to 33 implement licensing and license renewal requirements; 34 (e) requirements for the department to create a searchable database 35 for consumers requiring the assistance of a licensed sign language 36 interpreter; and 37 (f) a code of ethics and regulations for the purpose of licensing sign 38 language interpreting agencies that hire interpreters and/or transla- 39 tors. 40 § 8904. Licensing requirements. (1) To qualify for a license as a sign 41 language interpreter, an applicant shall obtain a professional license 42 as described in subdivision two of this section. 43 (2) The department shall grant a professional license as a sign 44 language interpreter to an applicant who: 45 (a) submits an application on a form provided by the department; 46 (b) pays a fee of one hundred five dollars to the department for 47 admission to a department conducted examination and for an initial 48 license, a fee of sixty dollars for each reexamination, a fee of ninety 49 dollars for an initial license for persons not requiring admission to a 50 department conducted examination, and a fee of one hundred thirty 51 dollars for each five year registration period; 52 (c) meets the minimum industry standards determined by the board to be 53 licensed by the department; and 54 (d) establishes the schedule of appropriate fees as needed to ensure 55 the affordability to clients and/or applicants and to maintain the 56 effective management of the licensing procedures.
A. 2668 3 1 (3) All licensees shall maintain their skills by participating in 2 interpreters' training workshops or seminars arranged by the state board 3 for sign language interpreting. 4 § 8905. Exempt persons. (1) The department may grant a temporary 5 exemption to an individual who is not a resident of this state for a 6 period not to exceed sixty days if the individual has certified creden- 7 tials from the state of their previous residence. The department may not 8 grant an individual more than two temporary exemptions per year pursuant 9 to this subdivision. 10 (2) The department may grant a permanent exemption to an applicant 11 based on their ability to meet the minimum industry standards determined 12 by the board to be licensed by the department. 13 (3) The department may grant a temporary or permanent exemption to an 14 individual who is a resident of this state for a period specified by the 15 department. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the five hundred fiftieth day after 17 it shall have become a law.