The Louisiana Commission for the Deaf on June 26, 2025 reviewed public feedback on a proposed rule setting minimum qualifications for American Sign Language interpreters after the Louisiana Department of Health published a notice of intent on May 20, 2025.

The review matters because the rule would set statewide minimum qualifications for interpreters and shape how people who are Deaf or hard of hearing access government and health services across Louisiana.

Janet Broussard, interim director, summarized the department's outreach and initial results. She said the notice of intent was opened for a 20-day public comment period after publication on May 20, 2025 and that the department received three written comments during that window and seven requests for a public meeting. Broussard said the department hosted a public forum on June 26, 2025 at 10 a.m. that ran until about 10:50 a.m. and that 34 individuals attended in addition to five Louisiana Department of Health employees and five people who provided communication access during the forum. "On 05/20/2025, that was released to the public. It is a very lengthy document with multiple parts," Broussard said.

Broussard said the department had received a total of 15 written responses related to the notice of intent, and that four of those written submissions were duplicates. She also said the department continued to accept written comments through 4:30 p.m. on the forum date, and that comments received after the formal deadline were not included in the initial count because the department follows a strict timeline for rulemaking comment periods.

Commissioner Dr. Wimberley noted a related accessibility concern from public comment and raised an administrative follow-up: "I'm also on the relay administration board and that is something I can also bring up to the board about providing CF communication facilitators while using phone services, and that was for Jackie's comment," he said.

On next steps, Broussard described an internal review process: department staff will compile responses, then a multi-person review will determine whether the proposed rule satisfies state requirements and state law before the rule moves to subsequent review steps. She said that if the department issues no changes, publication of the next rule milestone could appear around September or October 2025; if changes are required, the department could not provide a specific timeline.

The commission also discussed background work completed since 2022, including development of an interpreter registry and new standards for measuring interpreting competency, which staff said were created to align with state law and the commission's vision. Broussard summarized those past efforts and described the registry as an online list of interpreters that the public can consult.

No formal action on the proposed rule was taken at the meeting; the session was a briefing and status update. Earlier in the meeting, the commission approved the day's agenda (motion by Senator Kleinpeter; second by Commissioner Ennis; no opposition) and unanimously voted to defer approval of the January 17 and February 21, 2025 minutes pending edits (motion by Commissioner Leslie Knowles; second by Commissioner Crosby).

The commission indicated it will monitor the Louisiana Department of Health's written responses to commenters and the department's subsequent review. If the department posts a revised rule for additional comment or final publication, the commission said it would consider that updated record as the process continues.