By Olivo                                              H.B. No. 1438
         77R2128 CAS-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to minimum salaries for interpreters employed in public
 1-3     schools to provide interpreting services to students who are deaf
 1-4     or hard of hearing.
 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 22, Education Code, is
 1-7     amended by adding Section 22.007 to read as follows:
 1-8           Sec. 22.007.  MINIMUM ANNUAL SALARY FOR INTERPRETERS.  (a)
 1-9     Except as provided by Subsection (b), a school district shall pay
1-10     each interpreter employed by the district to provide interpreting
1-11     services to district students who are deaf or hard of hearing an
1-12     annual salary equal to not less than the following amount, as
1-13     appropriate, based on the interpreter's level of certification:
1-14     LEVEL OF CERTIFICATION               MINIMUM ANNUAL SALARY
1-15     No certification                             $18,000
1-16     Level I                                      $21,000
1-17     Level II                                     $23,000
1-18     Level III                                    $25,000
1-19     Level IV                                     $27,000
1-20     Level V                                      $29,000
1-21           (b)  The minimum annual salary required under Subsection (a)
1-22     is based on employment of an interpreter under a 10-month contract
1-23     under which the interpreter provides the number of days of service
1-24     required to be provided by an educator under Section 21.401.  A
 2-1     school district shall pay an interpreter employed under a different
 2-2     arrangement an adjusted salary that proportionately reflects the
 2-3     different number of days of service provided by the interpreter.
 2-4           (c)  Each time professional employees specified by Section
 2-5     21.402 are provided a raise in minimum salary under that section, a
 2-6     school district shall provide a proportionate raise to
 2-7     interpreters.
 2-8           (d)  In this section, an interpreter's level of certification
 2-9     is determined according to the level of the interpreter's
2-10     certification issued by the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters or
2-11     the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing or other
2-12     comparable certification approved by the commission.
2-13           SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002
2-14     school year.
2-15           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-16     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-17     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
2-18     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-19     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.