The Sign Language Interpreters Act was introduced to the House on February 2, 2021, passed by the General Assembly on May 11, 2022, and signed by the Governor on May 16, 2022. The Interpreters Act will go into effect on January 1, 2024 and establish new requirements for interpreters in South Carolina. Below you will find information on how the Interpreters Act will impact you and the requirements that must be met to work as an interpreter in the state. 

Who:

SC RID in partnership with SCAD and other stakeholders.

What:

An Act created to establish minimum requirements for ASL Interpreters in SC. View the ACT. 

When:

SC RID & SCAD have been advocating for many years to establish standards for ASL interpreters. These efforts were successful in 2022 and the requirements go into effect in January 2024.

Where:

Community & Post-Secondary-

• Businesses regulated by the Department of Health and Environmental Control under Title 44.
• Departments of state government
• Offices of all statewide constitutional officers
• Judicial Department
• Public institutions of higher education
• The Commission on Higher Education
• Police Stations
• County and state detention centers and correctional facilities
• Any other board, commission, or council created by a statute of SC

Excludes: school districts, school boards, charter schools, and special schools

For more detailed information click here. 

K-12 Educational Interpreting-

• The Sign Language Interpreters Act DOES NOT detail minimum requirements for K-12 Educational interpreters
• Instead the Act states that relevant stakeholders including SC RID, SCAD, & the State Board of Education will develop regulations for the appropriate credentialing of sign language interpreters working in schools and school districts
• The Act requires that interpreters working in schools and school districts in the state must be required to submit the same background checks as educators

Why:

To require minimum competency requirements for sign language interpreters, exceptions, definitions, and more rigorous standards so that Deaf and hard of hearing individuals in SC have appropriate access.

How:

SC RID & SCAD were tasked with working together to decide which credentials would meet minimum requirements to be able to work in specific settings detailed above. SC RID & SCAD agreed to create a registry to list qualified individuals in SC and verify that their credentials meet the requirements established.