NIGP 96146: Interpreter Services (Foreign Language, Hearing Impaired, etc.) (see Item 17 for Interpreter Services - Electronically Assisted)

NIGP 96146 Interpreter Services (Foreign Language, Hearing Impaired, Etc.), an Item code, encompasses on-demand and scheduled interpretation across spoken languages, American Sign Language, and real-time captioning delivered in-person, remotely, or virtually to support state and local government operations, education, healthcare, public safety, and social services. State and local government agencies are actively procuring interpreter staffing to address critical service gaps, particularly in education where districts report doubling interpreter vacancies since 2021–2022 and speech-language pathology shortages affecting mandated special education services under IDEA.

Issuing bodies span school districts (Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida, Katy ISD and Tacoma Public Schools, Hays Consolidated ISD), state environmental and social-service departments (California Departments of Education, Pesticide Regulation, Industrial Relations, Environmental Protection Agency), county governments (Marion County Oregon, Jackson County Missouri, Collin County Texas), municipalities (City of Worcester Massachusetts, Baltimore City), state corrections and parole boards, transit authorities (Orange County Transportation Authority), and specialized public entities (California Air Resources Board, Department of Developmental Services, Franchise Tax Board). Repeat buyers include multiple California state departments issuing overlapping RFPs and IFBs, and Florida school districts sourcing both general and specialized interpreting capacity. Geographic activity concentrates in California, Florida, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Texas, with activity across two dozen additional states and special-purpose districts. Representative solicitations include Hillsborough County Public Schools RFP 24127-RFP-DST seeking speech-language pathologists and assistants on an as-needed basis to fill approximately 100 SLP and 2 SLPA vacancies for the 2024–2025 school year with annual budget approximately $11,641,950 (proposals due March 23, 2026); Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources RFQ-ENE-2027-008 for in-person interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Russian, Khmer, Cape-Verdean Creole, French, Arabic, and Korean with SBPP award preference (quotes due October 21, 2026); California Environmental Protection Agency OEHHA IFB 26-E0010 for translation and interpretation services with contract value not to exceed $97,500 over four fiscal years and SB/DVBE preference (bids due October 29, 2026); California Air Resources Board IFB 26EO007 for interpretation in 27 languages and written translation for board proceedings at total contract value $249,999.99 over 24 months (bids due October 29, 2026); and California Department of Industrial Relations IFB S26ODA001 for virtual and in-person interpretation in 37 languages with estimated total budget $1,642,000 and up to three contract awards (bids due August 24, 2026).