The Senate and the House have passed a bill that will provide grants
to educate court reporters specializing in realtime communication. These
reporters will provide captioning for live television broadcasts,
improving access for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers.
A Short History of Captioning
In
1980, American television started broadcasting the first
closed-captioned programs. These broadcasts had subtitles so that deaf
and hard of hearing viewers could enjoy programs along with everyone
else.
Initially, these captions were limited to pre-recorded
broadcasts. However there was soon a demand for captions on news,
sporting events, and other live programs. This created a need for people
who could transcribe the spoken word in real time.
Certified
court reporters have been doing this for decades. Many reporters left
the courtrooms for jobs at television stations. Despite the rise in
captioning, many programs were still broadcast without captions making
them inaccessible to many viewers.
Increased Demand for Realtime-Certified Court Reporters
In
1996, in response to public pressure as well as the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act.
This mandated that all new English television broadcasts must be
captioned by 2006. It also required an increasing percentage of old
programs be captioned.
The demand for certified court reporters
skyrocketed as television stations searched in vain for people skilled
in realtime captioning. Unfortunately as demand went up, the supply went
down. Driven in part by fear that technology would make the profession
obsolete, enrollment in court reporting schools plummeted.
Many
schools closed and the number of graduates dwindled. The average court
reporting agency saw their staff decline by 10% over this period. The
2006 deadline came and went and the caption goal was not met. The
reporters needed just weren't there. Schools were educating only half
the realtime reporters needed.
A New Initiative to Train Court Reporters
The
Higher Education Reauthorization bill was introduced into Congress in
2007. Part of this bill was a program of grants to educate certified
court reporters to meet the demands of realtime captioning.
Interested
parties watched as the bill made its way through the tortuous paths of
the federal government. In February 2008 the bill was passed by the
House of Representatives and in July it passed the Senate.
As of
this writing, the bill awaits the President's signature and advocates of
the measure are cautiously optimistic that it will become a reality
later this year.
The grants offered by this bill will offer
incentive to aspiring court reporters and should increase enrollment.
Over time, this should increase the supply of certified court reporters
and ease the burden felt by both television stations and courtrooms over
the lack of qualified candidates.
