Lowering Texas Court Interpreter Standards
Channel: Texan Translation
Date: 2019-03-25

Four years ago, the Texas legislature created the "basic" level of licensed court interpreters, who only had to earn a 60% on the oral exam (instead of 70% like a "master" level interpreter), and were restricted to certain justice of the peace and municipal courts. A pair of state bills in the 2019 session seek to allow basic interpreters to work in all courts, effectively lowering the passing score to 60% for all LCIs. This means that the interpreter who voices the testimony which sends a defendant to death row doesn't even have to get 2/3 of the information right!
I feel like our testing program (shared by 35 states) is already fair, and that lowering the passing score is the wrong move. Why not work to improve the skills of test takers so they can pass and be better prepared? If you're a Texas resident, I urge you to look up your representatives here (https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home) and send them a short note through their webforms or email addresses, opposing SB 2176 and HB 3627.