Katie Colombo

Martha Ingel
IPP 112
4/4/11
The Laws Pertaining to Deafness and Sign Language Interpreters

There are many state and federal laws that have been put in place to protect the rights of
Deaf individuals and sign language interpreters. These laws are very important to both of these
categories of individuals. The four main laws pertaining to these individuals are The Americans
with Disabilities Act, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, The Federal
Rehabilitation Act, and The North Carolina General Statute 90D. These laws have been
established to try and provide equal rights for Deaf individuals and to protect those who interpret
for them.
The Americans with Disabilities Act also known as ADA of 1990 prohibits
discrimination on the basis of a disability in employment, state and local government, public
accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications (A guide to
disability rights laws, 2005). To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a
relationship or association with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is
defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such impairment,
or a person who is perceived by others as having such impairment (A guide to disability rights
laws, 2005).
There are five different titles in which an individual is covered. These five titles are
employment, state and local government, public accommodations, telecommunications, and
miscellaneous (A guide to disability rights laws, 2005). This means that there must be
compliance for Deaf individuals in each of these sections in society. The Americans with
Disabilities Act defines a qualified interpreter as an interpreter who is able to interpret
effectively, accurately, and impartially who receptively and expressively, using any necessary
specialized vocabulary (Setting standards, 2011). This law states that those who do not have
the ways to identify who has attained some level of competency in interpreting and the
individuals who hire these interpreters are at a loss in being able to satisfy the mandates of ADA
in providing qualified interpreting services (Setting standards, 2011).
Since the ADA defines a qualified interpreter in this way, it allows there to be a variety of
individuals interpreting for a Deaf person. No special accreditation is needed to meet ADA
standards and qualified interpreters may include family members or friends, as long as they are
effective, accurate, impartial (especially in personal or confidential situations), and an acceptable
choice to the patient, personnel for the practice or facility, or interpreters from interpreter
services (Americans with disabilities act and hearing interpreters, 2011).
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 includes a variety of provisions focused on rights,
advocacy, and protections for individuals with disabilities (Rehabilitation act of 1973). The
Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is categorized in many different sections. There are three
sections that are very important that pertain to Deaf individuals. Section 501 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973requires the federal government to practice affirmative action to hire
and to promote workers with disabilities including workers who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
The regulations for this law, require the federal government to provide equal access to training
and promotion opportunities and to make reasonable accommodations for workers with
disabilities (Rehabilitation act of 1973).
Section 503 requires affirmative action and prohibits employment discrimination by
federal government contractors and subcontractors with contracts of more than $10,000
(Rehabilitation act of 1973). Section 504 regards Federal Agencies and Federally Funded
Programs and Activities. This section states that no qualified individual with a disability in the
United States, based on their disability, can be excluded or denied rights, or be discriminated
against under any program that receives federal funding (Rehabilitation act of 1973). This also
applies to any program or activity hosted by an executive agency or the U.S. Postal Service
(Rehabilitation act of 9173).
Each federal agency has its own set of Section 504 regulations that apply to its own
programs. Agencies that provide federal financial assistance also have Section 504 regulations
covering entities that receive federal aid. Requirements common to these regulations include
reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities, program accessibility, effective
communication with people who have hearing or vision disabilities, and accessible new
construction and alterations (Rehabilitation act of 1973).
Section 504 explains the requirements of necessary auxiliary aids, such as sign language
interpreters, to ensure equal access to federal financial recipients programs (Obligations of
hospitals and nursing homes to provide interpreters and auxiliary aids for deaf and hard of
hearing patients, 2011). This statement, which is found in this section, helps to ensure that Deaf
individuals are able to participate in these programs. This section also explains the fact that it
would be very difficult for specific health care providers to ensure that effective communication
is being provided to the Deaf individual without using and interpreter (Obligations of hospitals
and nursing homes to provide interpreters and auxiliary aids for deaf and hard of hearing
patients, 2011).
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act also known as IDEA is a law that has
been established to ensure the rights of children with disabilities. IDEA governs how states and
public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than
6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities (Building the legacy:
IDEA 2004). Throughout this law, and Individualized Education Program or and IEP is
developed to each childs needs in accordance to their disability. An IEP includes academic and
functional goals that are designed to meet the childs needs to enable to child to be involved and
make progress in the general education curriculum (Building the legacy: IDEA 2004). IDEA
states that certain factors must be followed pertaining to Deaf children. In regards to sign
language interpreters, interpreting services, as used with respect to children who are Deaf or
hard of hearing, includes oral transliteration services, cued language transliteration services, and
sign language interpreting services (Parents-what does special education law say about
educational interpreters?).
An IEP is required to ensure the least restrictive environment for a child with a
disability. For disabilities such as a blind child or a child in a wheelchair, this term of least
restrictive environment seems to be suitable. For these children, such things as brail and large
print and wheelchair accessible areas in the classroom are ways to ensure them a least
restrictive environment. On the other hand, ensuring this same environment for a Deaf child is
a little different. It is hard to determine if this environment really is the least restrictive for a
Deaf child. The Deaf child is with an interpreter one-on-one, all day. In most instances, the
teacher knows no ASL. This means that the students can not communicate with one another.
This child relies on their interpreter all day long for any sort of communication (Ingel, 20110).
The North Carolina General Statute 90D is a law that pertains to sign language
interpreters. The NC General Statute 90D chapter may also be referred to as the Interpreter and
Transliterater Licensure Act (North Carolina general statutes, 2011). It is the purpose of this
chapter to provide for the regulation of persons offering manual or oral interpreting or
transliterating services to individuals who are Deaf hard of hearing, or dependent on the use of
manual modes of communication in this State (North Carolina general statutes, 2011). This law
states that no person shall practice as an interpreter or transliterator for a fee, represent
themselves as a licensed interpreter or transliterator, or use any title that refers to themselves as a
licensed interpreter or transliterator for the Deaf unless that person is currently licensed in North
Carolina (North Carolina general statutes, 2011).
An individual may obtain a license as an interpreter or transliterator if they meet the
following qualifications. The individual must be 18 years of age or older, is of good moral
character as determined by the Board, and meets one of the following criteria; holds a valid
National Association of the Deaf, has a national certification recognized by the National Cued
Speech Association, or holds a quality assurance North Carolina Interpreter Classification
System level A or B classification (North Carolina general statutes, 2011). These requirements
for being able to practice as an interpreter do not apply to religious and educational settings. The
state of North Carolina also has the right to enforce punitive damages against anyone who
practices without a license and the employers who hire these interpreters (Ingel, 2011).
As you can see, these four main laws outline certain factors that contribute to individuals
with a disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act, Federal Rehabilitation Act, The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and The NC General Statute 90D are just some of
the laws that pertain to Deaf individuals and sign language interpreters. These laws help
mandate certain rules that must be followed when pertaining to these individuals and those who
work with them. These laws are very important to help protect the rights of these individuals.


Works Cited
A guide to disability rights laws. (2005, September). Retrieved April 4, 201, from U.S.
department of justice: http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor62335

Americans with disabilities act and hearing interpreters. (2011). Retrieved April 4, 2011, from
American medical association http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-
resources/leegal-topics/regulatory-compliance-topics/the-americans-disabilities-act-
hearing-interpreters.page

Building the legacy: IDEA 2004. (n.d.) Retrieved April 4, 2011, from U.S. department of
education: http://idea.ed.gov/

Ingel, M. (2001, March 28). The law and deafness. Retrieved April 4, 2011, from Blackboard
academic suite:
http://nlackboard.cpcc.edu/webappsportal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%
2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_325341_1%26url%
3d

North carolina general statutes. (2011). Retrieved April 4, 2011, from North Carolina general
assembly: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/statutees/StatutesTOC.pl?Chapter=0090D

Obligations of hospitals and nursing homes to provide interpreters and auxiliary aids for deaf
and hard of hearing patients. (2011). Retrieved April 4, 2011, from DT interpreting
http://www.dtinterpreting.com/compliance.html

Parents-what does specual education law say about educational interpreters?. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 4, 2011, from Classroom Interpreting:
http://www.classroominterpreting.org/Parents?Law.asp

Rehabilitation act of 1973. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2011, from National association of the
deaf: http://www.nad.org/issues/civil-rights/rehabilitation-act-1973

Setting standards. (2011). Retrieved April 4, 2011, from Registry of interpreters for the deaf:
http://www.rid.org/interpreting/Setting%20Standards/index.cfm