§2352. Duties

The commission shall:

(1) Promote, coordinate, and facilitate accessibility of all public and private services to deaf people.

(2) Serve as advocate for the needs and rights of deaf people.

(3) Collect information concerning deafness and provide for the dissemination of this information.

(4) Develop and implement a statewide program to ensure continuity of services to deaf people.

(5) Inform deaf citizens, parents, and families of the availability of programs and services for deaf adults and children at all levels of state and local government.

(6) Promote the training of interpreters and assist in the establishment of interpreter training programs.

(7) Certify interpreters and maintain a registry of certified interpreters. The commission shall promulgate rules for the examination of applicants for certification and the issuance of certificates. Such rules shall be subject to legislative oversight review pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act and shall be subject to the following limitations:

(a) The commission shall not promulgate any rule or regulation which denies a deaf or hard of hearing person's right to choose his interpreter.

(b) The commission shall exempt from the requirement of certification, interpreters of religious services.

(c) Repealed by Acts 2010, No. 743, §8(B), eff. July 1, 2010.

(d) The commission shall charge reasonable fees to cover the administrative costs of applications, examinations, and renewal of certificates.

(e) The commission shall waive examination requirements for applicants with valid certification from another state, based on the board's recommendation for reciprocity.

(f) The commission shall adopt procedures under which certificates will expire.

(g) The commission shall specify procedures outlining grounds for denying, suspending, or revoking interpreters' certificates, and for disciplining interpreters.

(h) The certification of interpreters by the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf shall not be applicable to the Louisiana State Department of Education or to any of the local educational agencies and special board schools throughout the state under the supervision of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Such certification shall incorporate an evaluation conducted by the Interpreter Certification Board of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf.

(8) Provide all services of the commission to deaf people with visual impairments.

(9) Provide interpreter services to the deaf in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the commission.

(10)(a) Establish, administer, and promote a statewide program to provide access to all public telecommunications services by persons who are deaf, deaf-blind, and others such as persons with severe hearing loss or severe speech impairments. This program shall include but is not limited to:

(i) The purchase and distribution of telecommunications devices and related devices for the purposes listed above.

(ii) The creation of a dual party relay system to function as a communications bridge between members of the deaf and hearing citizenry.

(iii) Recommendation for the selection of staff, rate/surcharge, operating budget, and other related matters, determination of functions of the staff, approval of the selection of appropriate equipment, development, evaluation, and modification of the distribution system for specialized equipment, approval of the development, implementation, evaluation, and modification of a year-round, twenty-four-hour dual party relay system, and the engagement in other related activities not inconsistent with legal mandates nor otherwise prohibited by law.

(b) The commission shall promulgate, pursuant to R.S. 49:950, et seq., such procedures, regulations, rules, and criteria and may also take other action necessary to implement and administer this program where not otherwise prohibited by law.

Added by Acts 1980, No. 629, §2; Acts 1985, No. 662, §1, eff. July 16, 1985; Acts 1988, No. 660, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1988; Acts 1990, No. 529, §1; Acts 1991, No. 895, §1; Acts 1993, No. 1006, §1, eff. June 25, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 924, §1; Acts 1997, No. 213, §1, eff. June 16, 1997; Acts 2008, No. 815, §4; Acts 2010, No. 743, §8(B), eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2017, No. 146, §11; Acts 2018, No. 206, §5.