Advisory board backing phased changes to court interpreter licensing approves two-year carry-forward of passed exam sections

Members of the advisory board that reviews the Licensed Court Interpreter (LCI) program voted to allow candidates who pass individual portions of the oral licensing exam to carry those passing scores forward for two years and approved a set of phased steps to expand training and collect applicant data. The board approved the two-year carry-forward, endorsed staff proposals to collect enhanced applicant data, and agreed to pilot a split skills-and-orientation training package as an optional course while collecting evidence of its effect on exam outcomes.

The board's deliberations, led by staff summaries and discussion among advisory members and court administration staff, centered on four priorities the group had previously identified: expand and enhance the existing six-hour orientation, add basic-qualification data collection, develop a language-neutral skills module, and change how oral exam scores are handled so candidates may combine passing sections within a defined time period.

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) exam and existing OCA (Office of Court Administration) curricula were cited repeatedly as reference points during the discussion. Staff described options they had circulated in a memo and asked the advisory body for direction on which items to recommend to the commission.

"I will point you to a memo that... contained the UTEP course outline and course syllabus, the ACC course outline and course syllabus, and an outline of the curriculum that OCA staff are working on," said Mr. Morgan, a staff presenter, summarizing the materials provided to members. He described recommendations that mirror…