Florida House Passes ASL Interpreters Bill Unanimously –via WFSU

Currently there are no standard qualifications for American Sign Language interpreters in public schools. But Thursday the Florida House passed a bill unanimously that could that.

“Our hairdressers are required to have licenses, right? But not our interpreters? I mean, you have interpreters working with deaf children, can you imagine? Does that make a whole lot of sense to you?” she asked.That’s June McMahon with the Florida Association of the Deaf, speaking through an interpreter. After hearing concerns like McMahon’s, Representative Lori Berman of Boynton Beach is working on a bill that could make a difference.

“Florida is one of only five states that has no standard for sign language interpreter qualifications in K-12 programs,” she said.

American Sign Language or ASL is a living language, with its own grammar, syntax, dialects and slang. Terri Schisler is an interpreter, and she says sign language is just as complex as spoken language.

To read more of this article courtesy of WFSU —> click here.

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