Educational interpreting and teacher preparation. An interdisciplinary model.

Educational interpreting remains the fastest growing area in the field of interpreting largely due to the Individual with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The United States Department of Education, Personal Preparation and Special Topics, has awarded grants to a number of organizations, agencies, colleges and universities to establish preparation programs for educational interpreters. This article describes how resources, namely the curriculum, extant in a teacher preparation program in deafness are used in establishing a four year preparation program for educational interpreters leading to a Bachelor of Science degree. The interdisciplinary model outlined follows the curriculum recommendations of the Council on Education of the Deaf/Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Ad Hoc Committee for Educational Interpreting.