Professional is Not Just a Title: The Value in Reclassifying Pennsylvania\u27s Paraprofessional Educational Interpreters

The desire and necessity to reclassify Pennsylvania educational interpreters from paraprofessional to professional status needs to be addressed. Understanding the history and need for interpreting services in the K-12 setting will provide a solid foundation for moving educational interpreters forward to professionalization. The concept of applying professional status to educational interpreters working in the Pennsylvania K-12 setting is explored within the literature review. Within this study, I used qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect data from stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These stakeholders consisted of educational interpreters working in the K-12 setting and agencies who employ these interpreters. The two separate surveys further support the idea of reclassifying educational interpreters from paraprofessionals to professionals. The data and research explored throughout this study guides the conversation to further research in advancing educational interpreters working in Pennsylvania’s K-12 settings to professional status