In 1983 the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (FRID) appointed Dr. Carol Dunstall to head the committee from FRID to study the RID Code of Ethics and its appropriateness for educational interpreters. Dr. Dunstall then appealed to interpreters in the educational setting to provide her with input on the applicability of the RID Code of Ethics to their experiences in the classroom. Armed with information from over thirty classroom interpreters and teachers who use interpreters, Dr. Dunstall developed a separate Florida Code of Ethics (FCOE) for Educational Interpreters and submitted it to all the members of the committee and the FRID membership at large for review and comment.
At the FRID convention in 1984, over 100 interpreters attended the FCOE workshop and thoroughly reviewed, discussed and revised the document that had been developed. From that input Dr. Dunstall submitted to the FRID Board of Directors a final draft of the Florida Code of Ethics for Educational Interpreters for approval.
During this time, the Florida Department of Education Bureau of Education of Exceptional Students (BEES), led by Dr. Judy Heavner, had already established a task force on interpreting in the educational setting. The task force met several times during 1984 to discuss issues and concerns about interpreting in the educational setting. Members of the task force included classroom interpreters, teachers, program coordinators, administrators and interpreter trainers.
A major concern was the RID's Code of Ethics and its application in the educational setting. The RID Code of Ethics, originally created for use in community interpreting, sometimes posed a challenge for interpreters when used in the educational setting. Since the educational interpreter is employed by the school system and is bound by local and state laws, abiding by the RID Code of Ethics had the potential to place the interpreter in an ethical dilemma.
The FRID Board of Directors approved the final draft of the FCOE prepared by Dr. Dunstall and submitted it to the BEES Task Force. The Task Force made some changes and this draft version was then shared with teachers and program coordinators at the Florida Educators of the Hearing-Impaired (FEHI) conference (1984) at which time some additional changes were suggested. The FRID Board of Directors then gave its official endorsement and adopted this final draft of the Florida Code of Ethics for Educational Interpreters. BEES included the FCOE in their 1986 Technical Assistance Paper (TAP) on Educational Interpreting.
The current draft of the Florida Code of Ethics for Educational Interpreters is a result of the cooperative efforts of the FRID, local school districts and the Florida Department of Education.
Florida is the first state to establish an evaluation system for Educational Interpreters.The very first Educational Interpreters Evaluation was conducted at the University of South Florida in 1986. Since writing this article I have learned that North Carolina and Missouri both have Educational Interpreter evaluations.
The Florida Educational Interpreter Evaluation is in no way connected, affiliated, sanctioned or approved by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
The University of South Florida offers a BA degree in Educational Interpreting. For more information on this program check out their Web site.
For more information in regards to the EIE visit Florida Registry of Intepreters for the Deaf.
