Translation and interpreting services in Emporia

Language access rules in Kansas

Court interpreter program

Kansas Judicial Branch language access program: the Supreme Court's Language Access Committee (Rule 1701, created May 2, 2014, with a permanent nonvoting seat for the Office of Judicial Administration) recommends program policy, a local language access coordinator appointed in every judicial district (Rules 107(b)(2)(C) and 1702) keeps the district's interpreter list and handles complaints, and the Office of Judicial Administration supports and trains courts; interpreter costs are paid by the county where the court sits.

Court-certified languages

The Kansas judicial branch does not currently certify court interpreters; certification from another state counts as evidence of qualifications. Before interpreting in a district court, a spoken-language interpreter must complete the free web-based Kansas Judicial Branch Court Interpreter Orientation (Rule 1705, effective January 1, 2021) and sign an acknowledgment agreeing to the Kansas Code of Professional Responsibility for Court Interpreters (Rules 1703 and 1704), and the judge must still find the interpreter qualified under K.S.A. 75-4353; sign language interpreters register with the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The rule

K.S.A. 75-4351 requires a qualified interpreter to be appointed for any person whose primary language is not English, or who is deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired, in grand jury testimony, criminal cases that could result in confinement or a penal sanction, and civil cases in which the person is a party or witness; under K.S.A. 75-4352 the court sets a reasonable fee and interpreter fees may never be assessed against that person, and K.S.A. 75-4355 preserves the court's inherent power to appoint interpreters in other cases.

Interpreters in administrative hearings and police questioning

K.S.A. 75-4351 also requires a qualified interpreter when a non-English-speaking, deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired person is the principal party in interest before a state or local board, commission, agency, or licensing authority, and before police question or take a statement from such a person arrested for a state crime or city ordinance violation.

Interpreter conflicts of interest

K.S.A. 75-4353 bars a spouse, close relative, household member, or anyone with an interest in the outcome from serving as the interpreter unless no other qualified interpreter is available, and allows appointment of an interpreter from a 24-hour telephone or technology-based interpretation service.

No interpreter fees charged to the person served

K.S.A. 75-4352 makes the court or agency conducting the proceeding set a reasonable interpreter fee, payable from funds appropriated for its operation, and bars assessing interpreter fees against the person who needs the interpreter.

Registered sign language interpreters

K.S.A. 75-5393a (enacted 2022, amended 2024) requires anyone interpreting under the state's interpreter statutes or to meet a state or federal legal requirement to obtain registration from the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which requires an accepted credential and 30 hours of continuing education every two years and caps out-of-state temporary registrants at 20 interpreting days a year.

Official language

K.S.A. 73-2801 (2007) designates English as the official language of Kansas for official public documents, records, and meetings, but lets state and local agencies publish documents in other languages alongside English and allows interpreters at public meetings.

Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

K.S.A. 75-5391 places the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing within the Department for Children and Families and authorizes it to develop and oversee programs for interpreters, interpreter service agencies, and communication access services.

Where limited-English need is concentrated

The Kansas courts' 2022 Statewide Language Access Plan, citing Census data, lists Seward (28.2%), Ford (22.2%), Finney (19.9%), and Wyandotte (14.5%) among the counties where people who speak English less than very well make up 8.2% or more of the population, and counts Spanish as the leading language of limited-English Kansans by far.