The Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission has been receiving ongoing inquiries regarding the status of the Illinois BEI Interpreter Testing. IDHHC suspended IL BEI testing at the beginning of the pandemic to comply with the Illinois Department of Public Health’s recommended health and safety guidelines.
IDHHC does not conduct IL BEI testing during the months of November and December to process annual renewals of Sign Language Interpreter Licenses. IDHHC had tentatively started planning to restart the IL BEI written test, Test of English Proficiency, in January 2021 barring any unforeseen circumstances due to the ongoing pandemic. However, due to a new wave of COVID-19 cases currently surging across the state, the Central Management Services has recommended all state agencies to employ state employees remotely to the greatest extent possible in adherence to the Illinois Governor’s November 20, 2020 Tier 3 Mitigations currently in effect. As a result, all IL BEI testing will continue to be suspended until further notice. Once the testing has resumed, the priority of the testing times will be offered first to those who had pending tests canceled and then to applicants who have sent in a completed application and fee in the order they were received.
IDHHC appreciates your patience during unprecedented times.
The purpose of the IL BEI interpreter testing and certification process is to provide certification options to Illinois interpreters. The certification tests are both proficiency-based and criterion-referenced evaluations.
IL BEI MANUAL: The manual helps you to become familiar with the general format, content, and evaluation criteria used in the examinations, as well as, explain IDHHC's policies and procedures for the testing process.
