March 19, 2015
Dear TSPC Commissioners,
My name is Tom Wills and I have been teaching American Sign Language (ASL) since 1995; in the year 2000, I started teaching ASL in Oregon. I am writing to you to express my strong belief that American Sign Language teachers in the state of Oregon need to be highly qualified to teach ASL, and that an endorsement by the state of Oregon, not a specialization, should be implemented as soon as possible. It is our duty and obligation to raise the bar and recognize currently qualified ASL teachers and set the standard in Oregon state for future ASL teachers. Ideally, the ASL teacher endorsement should have occurred years ago, and now that the ASL teaching endorsement is being revisited, the time to make decisive action is now.
History and Personal Experience
The state of Oregon Legislature passed a resolution accepting ASL as a world language that can be taught in Oregon K-12 schools in 1995. However, they did not specify any kind of qualifications for those teachers. What has TSPC done in the past twenty years to ensure that ASL teachers are highly qualified to teach ASL? In 2003, when teachers needed to show that they were highly qualified to teach because of the No Child Left Behind Act, I was called before a panel of ODE officials to testify because I didn’t have an endorsement to teach ASL. I was granted a conditional teaching permit with an endorsement in “Hearing Impaired” (which is actually not a culturally acceptable term in the Deaf community). I recommended that the state of Oregon should require the national American Sign Language Teacher’s Association (ASLTA) certification to ensure that ASL teachers are qualified. After the meeting, I was disappointed to learn that each school district would decide who was qualified to teach ASL and that no national certification would be required. Who is qualified to hire ASL teachers at each school district? Those of us who are close to the Deaf community know that most people don’t have experience in ASL and Deaf issues and can easily confuse the myriad differences between ASL interpreters, teachers of the Deaf, ASL users and ASL teachers. The current proposal before TSPC is to make an ASL Teacher specialization. If this is passed, it not only makes ASL a “lesser language” than the other world languages, but it also sets the precedent that an ASL specialization is purely optional and places the responsibility of evaluating teachers’ qualifications on each school district and any employer who wants to hire an ASL teacher. In effect, it doesn’t change any current hiring practices and does nothing to encourage the current teachers to prove that they are qualified. This is wrong as it diminishes the quality of education for our students.
In the summer of 2012, I almost lost my job as an ASL teacher in the Beaverton School District. It all came down to the endorsement on my teaching certificate. At a time of financial crisis when my school district had a legal obligation to look only at certification endorsements in order to make hard decisions about who to transfer, they could only place me in a position that was related to Music Education, which is still my endorsement today. I was called a few weeks before school started and informed by my principal that I had been transferred to teach mostly Band and some Choir classes at a different high school in our district. Although I should have cried, my reaction was laughter and an overwhelming disbelief that the system could be doing this to me. I had never taught band and my choir experience ended in 1995. ODE and TSPC are responsible, in part, for not providing the protection I needed during that time of crisis. The only reason I still have my job as an ASL teacher is due to the only other ASL teacher in our district (whose endorsement was in “Special Education; Deaf and Hard of Hearing”) deciding not to take my job and to leave the Beaverton School District to get a job in Hillsboro. I was at her mercy and am grateful she sacrificed her legal right to take my position. This situation would never have happened if the state of Oregon had allowed me to be endorsed as an ASL teacher. I had seniority over the other ASL teacher, and I also had been certified nationally through ASLTA, but these qualifications were worthless in my crisis. The state of Oregon has the responsibility and duty to protect my job and allow me to show that I am qualified to teach ASL. It also has a responsibility to ensure high quality teachers in ALL subjects including ASL.
In 2013, when I wanted to renew my Teaching Certification in Oregon, I sent in all the paperwork and waited to get my certification renewed. When I didn’t get a notification for it being approved, I contacted TSPC to see what was wrong. At that time, a TSPC employee seemed to be confused about whether or not I taught Deaf children or hearing children. I had to wait for my school district to contact TSPC and explain that I was teaching ASL to hearing students as a world language before they would process my teaching certification, which, to this day still has an endorsement in Music Education. Clearly there is confusion about what an ASL teacher’s job entails; the establishment of an ASL teacher endorsement would clarify this for all parties.
ASL Teachers Committee recommendation
A group of concerned ASL teachers have been meeting regularly for over a year now and giving our recommendations to TSPC in the hopes that some kind of ASL endorsement can be provided in Oregon. However, it seems the Commissioners have concern about providing this endorsement. Other states have used ASLTA certification as one method to obtain certification. More and more ASL Teacher Education programs are becoming available online and during summer programs. TSPC can and should allow a grandfather clause to the current ASL teachers in Oregon state. We believe that ASL teachers must prove that they are knowledgeable and proficient in educational pedagogy, have a minimum fluency level in ASL, and have a degree in Education. TSPC can think creatively about how to ensure these standards are met when they set the law; they can then provide several different paths to the endorsement as other states have. Here are some examples of some creative thinking for ASL endorsement paths in other states.
State of Florida
Administrative Rule 6A-4.02431
Specialization Requirements for the American Sign Language
Endorsement - Academic Class.
(1) A bachelor's or higher degree with certification in an academic class coverage, and
(2) Eighteen (18) semester hours in American Sign Language to include three (3)
semester hours in each area specified below:
(a) First and second language acquisition,
(b) Linguistics of American Sign Language,
(c) Aspects of the deaf culture and community,
(d) Methods of teaching American Sign Language,
(e) American Sign Language IV, and
(f) American Sign Language literature,
or
(3) A bachelor's or higher degree with certification in an academic class coverage,
and a valid Professional Level Certificate issued by the American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA).
Specific Authority 1007.2615, 1012.55, 1012.56, FS. Law Implemented 1007.2615, 1012.55, 1012.56, FS. History - New 3-1-2005.
The North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction requires ASLTA
Provisional Certification and a bachelor degree first before you can get a license from the State of North Carolina to teach ASL in K-12. Individuals who have earned a least a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution or an equivalent academic credential in another country, but who are not licensed to teach, may be issued a lateral entry license in a world language based on a rating of at least “Intermediate High” proficiency on the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Oral Proficiency Test, and, if available, the Writing Proficiency Test. Individuals who have earned a least a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution or an equivalent academic credential in another country, but who are not licensed to teach, may be issued a lateral entry license in American Sign Language based on holding at least provisional certification from the American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA).
State of Virginia
D. Foreign language preK-12 – American Sign Language. Endorsement
requirements:
1. The candidate must have
(i) graduated from an approved teacher preparation
program in a foreign language – American Sign Language or
(ii) completed a major in American Sign Language or 24 semester hours above the intermediate level in American Sign Language.
The program shall include
(i) courses in advanced grammar and syntax, conversation, and culture and
(ii) a minimum of 3 semester hours of methods of teaching foreign languages at the elementary and
secondary levels.
2. Native users or candidates who have learned American Sign Language without formal academic credit in a regionally accredited college or university must complete the following requirements:
a. Competency in American Sign Language demonstrated by written documentation of one of the following:
(1) Hold a current, valid qualified or professional certification by the American Sign Language Teachers Association; or
(2) Hold a current, valid Virginia Quality Assurance Screening Level III Interpreting certification or higher issued by the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing; or
(3) Hold a current, valid Registry of Interpreters for Deaf certification in at least one of the following: Certificate of Interpretation (CI), Certificate of Deaf Interpretation (CDI), Reverse Skills Certification (RSC), or Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC); or
(4) Hold a current, valid National Association for the Deaf Level IV certification or higher; or
(5) Complete requirements of an assessment demonstrating proficiency in American Sign Language prescribed by the Board of Education.
b. Earned a minimum of 3 semester hours of methods of teaching foreign languages at the elementary and secondary levels from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States.
Standardized ASL Teacher Tests
Another idea put forth in meetings with TSPC was to use a standardized ASL teacher test to qualify teachers for the endorsement. This could be another path to endorsement. When speaking with Keith Menk at one of our Committee meetings, I inquired about who evaluated the standardized tests for ASL teachers. Keith made a phone call and discovered that the evaluators of the standardized tests must have ASLTA certification at the Professional level. This is the certification that I have held for over eight years that TSPC has not yet recognized as a way to be endorsed as an ASL Teacher. Although the standardized test I saw was fairly basic and a good starting point, it pales in comparison to the ASLTA certification process. Our committee believes the ASLTA certification is a much better option. However, the ASLTA certification requires some experience in teaching ASL in order to apply for the first level of certification, and this would be problematic for beginning ASL teachers. This is why I believe several paths to certification will be necessary at this time.
I have done research about other states and how they are handling the endorsement of their ASL teachers. The links below will give the commissioners more information about how this is being handled in other states:
Standardized ASL teacher tests in the states of California, New York and Texas:
Information about ASL teaching and preparation in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio and Utah:
Conclusion
The current commissioners at TSPC have an opportunity to implement an endorsement that is reasonable and fair to current ASL teachers in the State of Oregon. If TSPC passes the ASL teaching specialization only, they are in effect doing nothing to change the current status of ASL teacher requirements in the state. Having an ASL teacher’s endorsement will protect current teachers and allow the best quality of ASL teachers in Oregon for the future. It’s been twenty years since Oregon has allowed ASL teaching in public schools. It’s time for TSPC to set minimum standards to ensure a quality education for ASL students in Oregon.
Sincerely,
Tom Wills