Chronology and Background of
Florida's Program

In 1991, the Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission made two recommendations relative to court interpreting:

The Florida Legislature should mandate and fund the development of a statewide training and certification program, to be administered through the Office of the State Courts Administrator. Once funded, the OSCA should be encouraged to collaborate with the state university system to design a curriculum appropriate for pre- and post-certification education.

OSCA should, through appropriate means, ensure the effective dissemination of information to all judges and court administrators, regarding the availability and appropriate use of court interpreters, training, and certification services.

In 1996, the Supreme Court Commission on Fairness was established, in part to review the status of the implementation of those recommendations.

There were efforts to require court interpreter certification in the 1992 Legislative Session.  During that session, SB1154 and its companion, HB1231 would have required interpreters used by the courts to be certified or designated as “otherwise qualified,” and delineated circumstances for the use of each.   The State Courts Administrator would have been required to establish the definition of “otherwise qualified” and to maintain a master list of interpreters for use by the courts.  Those bills would have provided a time period for currently-employed court interpreters to become certified or designated as otherwise qualified.  However, that legislation was vetoed by the Governor.  It was reintroduced during Special Session H, 1992, where it died in the Committee on Judiciary.

In 1995, the State Court Interpreter Certification Consortium was formed.  The states of Minnesota and Oregon, with the help of the National Center for State Courts, formed a consortium of state court interpreter programs.  Members states agree to share court interpreter exams and abide by test security standards.  Benefits include savings in test development costs, as well as interstate agreement on qualifications.  Minnesota, Oregon and the NCSC successfully negotiated with New Jersey and Washington (who had developed programs) to form the consortium.  To date, almost 30 states are members of the Consortium, with more joining every year.

After deciding to join the Consortium, Florida developed a strategy for improving court interpreters services in the state. During 1996, the State Courts Administrator visited several circuits to view court interpreter programs.  At meetings of the Chief Judges and Trial Court Administrators, he obtained unanimous support for a state-level initiative to improve interpreter services and to establish a statewide workgroup.  In fiscal year 1996-97, Florida joined the Consortium and OSCA staff attended the annual meeting of the Consortium in August, 1997 in Denver, Colorado.  

In 1997, the Office of the State Courts Administrator requested nominations from each of the circuits to form an advisory workgroup.  That workgroup meets regularly, is active, and has set and met various goals since its inception.

The circuit court budget for the 1998-99 fiscal year included funding for the court interpreter initiative, and provided for workgroup travel, consulting services, and equipment for a telephone interpreting pilot program.  Funding for a staff position was requested, but not funded in that fiscal year.  In the next fiscal year, 1999-2000, funding was again provided for the ongoing projects of the workgroup and a full-time staff position, Court Operations Consultant, was funded.  That position was filled in August 1999.

The Court Interpreters Advisory Workgroup held its first meeting in November 1997, after an organizational telephone conference call.  The group heard a presentation from the National Center for State Courts and developed a work plan.  The work plan called for the following between then and June of 1999:

• the development of a code of professional responsibility;
• the development of advisory guidelines for courts on providing interpreter services;
• the creation of the 2-day orientation program in the state;
• the administration of interpreter qualifications examinations;
• the development of a telephone interpreting pilot program to identify guidelines for the appropriate use of telephone interpreting, including the recommendation of equipment specifications that allow for simultaneous interpreting over the telephone;
• the development of a statewide registry of interpreters who have attended a 2-day court interpreter orientation program and passed the qualifications examination.

The workgroup attended a training program in December of 1997, provided by the Institute for Court Management of the National Center for State Courts, which focused on the management of interpreter services and was taught by NCSC staff, and included presentations by representatives from California, Oregon, New Jersey, and Maryland

To date, the workgroup has accomplished each of the above-stated goals except for the development of a set of guidelines for the courts.  It is expected that the guidelines will be forthcoming as a set of Rules of Court which are currently being reviewed by the Rules of Judicial Administration Bar Committee.   If the Rules are recommended and adopted, they will establish a certification procedure.  To attain certification, interpreters will be required to complete the following criteria:

• attend a 2-day orientation program;
• take and pass a written ethics/ general knowledge examination;
• take and pass a qualifications examination;
• undergo a background check;
• take an oath to uphold the Code of Professional Responsibility;
• agree to obtain certain continuing education points or hours.

Using funds from the 1997-98 fiscal years, the workgroup and some federally certified interpreters underwent training on the administration and rating of Consortium examinations.  The training took place in West Palm Beach and included about 20 people from around the state.   Since that time, more intensive training sessions have been given to qualified personnel for the administration of the examinations and for rating of the exams.

Goals of the workgroup now include:

• the adoption of the Rules of Court that will govern the use of interpreters in the courts and the certification of interpreters by the State Courts Administrator’s Office;
• the adoption of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which is made a part of the Rules of Court;
• the development of an approved list of continuing education activities;
• the appointment of a certification board to oversee the certification and discipline of certified interpreters.

Currently in Florida, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Russian, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean, Polish and Arabic examinations are offered.  More language examinations will be available as the National Center for State Courts and the Consortium continue to identify the need for such exams.  Attendance at a 2-day orientation program is a prerequisite to register for an examination.  If a candidate passes an examination, his or her name is added to the Registry of Tested Interpreters which is distributed once a year to all Trial Court Administrators, Chief Judges, Public Defenders and State Attorneys in the state and is maintained at this web site.  If a candidate fails an examination, he or she may retest, taking either a different version of the examination at any time the exam is offered, or the same test after waiting one year.     

OSCA would like to publicly thank each of the trial Court Administrators who nominated an employee to the Court Interpreters Advisory Workgroup.   Their support of the ongoing efforts to develop guidelines for interpreting in the courts in the State of Florida has been instrumental in the accomplishments achieved to date.  With that help, we are closer than ever to ensuring access to the courts and fairness in the courts for all persons in the State of Florida.