396.4—What definitions apply?

(a) Definitions in EDGAR. The following terms defined in 34 CFR 77.1 apply to this part:
Applicant
Application
Award
Equipment
Grant
Nonprofit
Private
Project
Public
Secretary
Supplies
(b) Definitions in the rehabilitation training regulations. The following terms defined in 34 CFR 385.4(b) apply to this part:
Individual With a Disability
Institution of Higher Education
(c) Other definitions. The following definitions also apply to this part:
Existing program that has demonstrated its capacity for providing interpreter training services means an established program with—
(1) A record of training interpreters who are serving the deaf and deaf-blind communities; and
(2) An established curriculum that is suitable for training interpreters.
Individual who is deaf means an individual who has a hearing impairment of such severity that the individual must depend primarily upon visual modes, such as sign language, lip reading, and gestures, or reading and writing to facilitate communication.
Individual who is deaf-blind means an individual—
(1) (i) Who has a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective lenses, or a field defect such that the peripheral diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees, or a progressive visual loss having a prognosis leading to one or both of these conditions;
(ii) Who has a chronic hearing impairment so severe that most speech cannot be understood with optimum amplification, or a progressive hearing loss having a prognosis leading to this condition; and
(iii) For whom the combination of impairments described in paragraphs (1)(i) and (ii) of this definition causes extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining a vocation;
(2) Who, despite the inability to be measured accurately for hearing and vision loss due to cognitive or behavioral constraints, or both, can be determined through functional and performance assessment to have severe hearing and visual disabilities that cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining vocational objectives; or
(3) Who meets any other requirements that the Secretary may prescribe.
Interpreter for individuals who are deaf means a qualified professional who uses sign language skills, cued speech, or oral interpreting skills, as appropriate to the needs of individuals who are deaf, to facilitate communication between individuals who are deaf and other individuals.
Interpreter for individuals who are deaf-blind means a qualified professional who uses tactile or other manual language or fingerspelling modes, as appropriate to the needs of individuals who are deaf-blind, to facilitate communication between individuals who are deaf-blind and other individuals.
Qualified professional means an individual who has either—
(1) Met existing national or state certification or evaluation requirements; or
(2) Successfully demonstrated equivalent interpreting skills through prior work experience.

Code of Federal Regulations

(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 711(c) and 771a(f) ; 29 U.S.C 1905 )