David Ward, speech-language pathologist
This page gathers Nebraska's open K-12 educational interpreter jobs and explains the Chapter 51 standard, the regional DHH programs, and state pay data.
Licensed interpreters and school interpreters
Nebraska state agencies and law enforcement must use interpreters the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing licenses. Section 20-150 of state law carves schools out of that system: public school districts and educational service units (ESUs) appoint qualified educational interpreters instead, under rules the Nebraska Department of Education writes.
Those rules sit in Title 92, Chapter 51 of the Nebraska Administrative Code, section 010.06. To qualify, you hold a high school diploma or equivalent, pass the EIPA written exam, and attain one of these:
- an EIPA score of 4.0 or above
- RID certification
- a National Association of the Deaf level of 4.0 or above
- National Interpreter Certification
- a Quality Assurance Screening Test level of 4.0
When a district cannot find a qualified interpreter
Chapter 51 gives districts and approved cooperatives two fallback options. A district may hire you for up to one year if the EIPA pre-hire screening rates you "Skills at or above the required level" or "Hire with Caution." A district may instead hire you with at least a 3.0 on the EIPA, NAD, or QAST, provided you follow a professional development plan of at least 40 clock hours of interpreting training per year. The Regional Program State Coordinator approves that plan and tracks it with the district. If you do not complete it, the district reopens the position.
Staying qualified
Every two years, you submit proof of 24 clock hours of professional development, with at least 18 hours on sign language interpreting. The other six can cover topics such as Deaf history and psychology, child or language development, interpreting for deaf-blind students, or legal and ethical issues. Without that proof, you retest.
Boys Town National Research Hospital runs the EIPA. Its written test has 176 multiple-choice questions across nine domains, a four-hour limit, and a $260 fee, and proctors may add their own fee.
Regional programs and hiring
The Nebraska Regional Programs for Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing pool state and local resources for deaf and hard of hearing children from birth to age 21 who receive IFSP or IEP services. The regions page names four programs, Central West, Greater Metro, Northeast, and Southeast, each with its own coordinator. ESU 9 in Hastings hosts the statewide pages and posts its own openings on an employment portal.
Pay and related roles
Nebraska employed 570 interpreters and translators in May 2025 at a median annual wage of $53,050, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The count spans all settings.
Chapter 24 of the same code lists the teaching endorsements you would pursue to move into a related role, including Special Education Deaf or Hard of Hearing and Speech-Language Pathologist.
Every job listed beside this article is an open Nebraska educational interpreter posting.