Opinion
No. SCAD-2003-92
December 9, 2003
ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVE
Pursuant to the authority granted to the Supreme Court by 20 O.S. § 1502[ 20-1502], the revisions to The Rules of the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters (Appendix B) are hereby approved and become effective January 1, 2004.
DONE BY ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT IN CONFERENCE THIS 8th day of December, 2003.
CHIEF JUSTICE
ALL JUSTICES CONCUR.
APPENDIX "A" RULES OF THE OKLAHOMA STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS CERTIFIED SHORTHAND REPORTERS
RULE
1. Administration
2. Times and Place of Holding Examinations
3. Eligibility
4. Dictation Speeds Test Requirements
5. Transcripts — Supplies
6. Required Accuracy
7. Time
8. Identity of Candidates
9. Turning in of Transcripts and Notes
10. Property of the Board
11. Standards for Scoring Transcripts
12. Notification of Results of Examination
13. Destruction of Papers
14. Enrollment
15. Certificates — Abbreviations — Seal
16. Duplicate Certificates
17. Change of Name
18. Roll
19. Reciprocity
20. Renewal Fees
21. Repealed Continuing Education
Rule 1. Administration
The examination of a candidate who seeks enrollment as a certified shorthand reporter shall be under the direction and control of the Board.
Rule 2. Time and Place of Holding Examinations
a. An examination for the qualification of candidates for certificates shall be conducted at least once a year at a specific time and location selected by the Board.
b. Candidates who have been found by the Board to be qualified for the examination, pursuant to the statute(s) and these rules shall governing the practice of court reporting and these rules, to sit for examination, shall be notified in writing of the time and place of such examination not later than thirty (30) days preceding prior to the examination date.
Rule 3. Eligibility
Every candidate who seeks to be examined for enrollment as a certified shorthand reporter shall:
a. Prove to the satisfaction of the Board that he/she is:
1. of legal age;
2. meets the requisite standards of ethical fitness;
3. and has at least a high school education, or the equivalent thereof.
This information shall be furnished to the Board by a sworn, notarized affidavit.
b. Submit to the Secretary of the Board, or a designee, a properly completed application form provided by the Board, accompanied by such evidence, statements or documents asthereinrequired by the Board, including an examination fee receipt from the Clerk of the Supreme Court showing payment of$35.00 by Oklahoma residents or $75.00 by out-of-state residentsthe fees required by the Board and approved by the Supreme Court.
c. Declare that he/she is a writer of shorthand by one of the accepted methods set forth in 20 O.S. 2003 § 1503[ 20-1503] and;
d. Prove that he/she meets all other requirements set forth in3(a) and 3(b) above20 O.S. 2003 § 1503.[ 20-1503].
e. Academic dishonesty during the examination process will result in the applicant's disqualification to take the examination again for two (2) years from the date of the examination at which the applicant was disqualified.
A candidate who has previously failed an examination may be re-examined at any subsequent regular examination upon giving the Board notice via the standard application. The application must be accompanied by the examination fee as set by the Board and approved by the Supreme Court. of $35.00 for Oklahoma residents or $75.00 by out-of-state residents. Applicants are no longer not allowed to rollover previous testing fees upon failure to pass an examination or any portion thereof. A candidate who has successfully completed the written knowledge portion of the examination may retain this credit for that portion of the examination for two (2) years from the date passed and will not be required to retake that portion of the examination during the two (2) year period. There will be no reduction in examination fee for any applicant retaining credit for the written knowledge portion of the examination.
Rule 4. Dictation Speeds Test Requirements
The examination for certified shorthand reporter shall consist of:
a. A two-voice question and answer dictation of testimony at 200 words per minute for five minutes. Questions and answers will not be read nor counted as words, but must be appropriately indicated in the transcript.
b. A five-minute dictation of literary material at 180 words per minute. The applicant will have two hours to transcribe both the question and answer dictation and the literary dictation. One hour will be given for the transcription of the question and answer dictation and one hour will be given for the transcription of the literary dictation.
c. Proof of Passing the Registered Professional Reporter Examination of the National Court Reporters Association or an equivalent test as authorized by the Supreme Court, pursuant to the requirements of 20 O.S. 2003 § 1503B[20-1503B](1) may be substituted for the literary material and question and answer portions of the examination.
d. A written knowledge test of not less than twenty-five (25) multiple-choice questions and/or true and false questions relating to Oklahoma law and court rules. This section of the examination will be administered in forty-five (45) minutes. Applicants will be provided with the study aids from which the test questions will be taken.
Rule 5. Transcripts — Supplies
a. The test transcript is to be typewritten and Each candidate shall furnish all supplies and equipment necessary for taking to take andtranscribing transcribe the test, with the exception of transcription paper. Prior to each examination the Board will advise applicants of the permitted computer and\or word processing equipment that may be used to transcribe the examination.
b. A dictionary/electronic spell checker is permitted for use in transcribing the test but must be furnished by the candidate applicant.
Rule 6. Required Accuracy
In order to pass the examination, candidates applicant will be required to attain 95 percent accuracy, which is defined as a maximum of fifty (50) errors on the question and answer portion of the skills examination and a maximum of forty-five (45) errors on the literary portion of the skills examination. A passing score on the written knowledge portion of the examination is seventy (70) percent or better.
Rule 7. Time
Time for transcription of the skills portions of the test shall be one two (2) hours. The time for the written knowledge portion of the examination will be forty-five (45) minutes.
Rule 8. Identity of Candidates
The identity of each candidate applicant shall be and shall remain unknown to the Board until after the final results are announced. Before the commencement of the examination, an identifying number shall be assigned to each candidate applicant. by the Secretary of the Board. Thecandidate applicant shall enter such number and date on each group of papers used in the examination and shall not enter his/her name at any place on the examination papers. Failure to follow these procedures will result in automatic failure of the examination.
Rule 9. Turning in of Transcripts and Notes
Each candidate applicant, upon completion of the transcription of his/hers notes, shall turn in the transcript with the diskette record, if any, and the notes to the Board. Each candidate applicant who commences but does not finish the assigned examination shall turn in his/hers the notes, together with the diskette record, if any, and the portion of the transcript, he/she that has been finished completed. Each applicant An applicant who does not transcribe his/hers their notes shall turn inhis/hers the notes and the diskette record, if any, before leaving the examination room. Computerized records not on diskette shall be erased by the applicant prior to leaving the examination room.
Rule 10. Property of the Board
Notes, examination papers, computer diskettes and transcripts shall become the property of the Board.
Rule 11. Standards for Scoring Transcripts
The following guidelines will be used by the Board in scoring transcripts:
a. One error will be counted for,
1. Each wrong word or wrong form thereof,
2. Each omitted, added or misplaced word,
3. Each misspelled word or proper name in common use,
4. Each omitted capital letter clearly needed,
5. Each incorrect number as it is spoken,
6. Each improper designation of either the Q or A,
7. Each contraction error, unless the difference in sound is not easily discernible, and
8. Each transposition of one or more words.
b. Five errors will be counted for an aggregate of punctuation errors, which reflect an absence of knowledge on the part of the candidate on the basic rules of punctuation.
c. Each segment of a hyphenated word is subject to one error.
d. Each error will be indicated by a (_) () right above it and in case of omitted or added words, the number of omissions or additions will precede the check mark.
e. When five errors are assessed for an aggregate of punctuation errors, that fact shall be indicated by the Board at the top of the first page of the test.
f. The following will not be counted as errors:
1. X-ing out of one or more complete words, if done by typewriter,
2. Hyphenation errors, including wrong end-of-line word division,
3. Spacing errors,
4. Optional spelling of a word as indicated in a standard dictionary,
5. Misspelling or phonetic spelling of unusual proper names, unless the correct spelling has been given prior to the test, and
6. Punctuation errors not falling into the classification of 11(b.) above.
Rule 12. Notification of Results of Examination
a. Each candidate who completes the test shall be notified in writing by the Secretary of the Board whether he/she has passed or failed within thirty (30) days from the date of the examination.
b. A candidate who completes the test, but fails to pass and who desires to inspect his/her examination papers, shall address a request in writing to that effect to the Secretary of the Board within thirty (30) days of the date appearing on the notification of the results of the examination.
c. If one of the skills examinations was a failing score, the second portion of the skills examination is not graded and will not be sent to the applicant. d. The written knowledge portion of the examination will not be returned to the applicant.
Rule 13. Destruction of Papers
The examination papers of all candidates shall be destroyed ninety (90) days following the date written notice of the result of the examination has been mailed to the examinees.
Rule 14. Enrollment
a. All examinees who successfully pass the CSR examination and have otherwise been found and approved by the Board to be fit and proper persons, in accordance with the statutes and these rules, shall be recommended by the Board to the Supreme Court for official enrollment as certified shorthand reporters.
b. All persons who successfully pass all three four elements of the CP or CM examinations (three (3) skills elements and one (1) written knowledge element) of the RPR (Registered Professional Reporter) or RMR (Registered Merit Reporter) examinations given by the Board or recognized by the Board and who are certified shorthand reporters employed by the State of Oklahoma shall be recommended by the Board to the Supreme Court for official enrollment as certificate of proficiency or certificate of merit shorthand reporters Registered Professional Reporters or Registered Merit Reporters. All persons who pass the one (1) element of the CRR (Certified Realtime Reporter) examination or the written knowledge element of the RDR (Registered Diplomate Reporter) examinations given by the Board or recognized by the Board and who are certified shorthand reporters employed by the State of Oklahoma shall be recommended by the Board to the Supreme Court for official enrollment as Certified Realtime Reporters or Registered Diplomate Reporters.
Rule 15. Certificates — Abbreviations — Seals
Each person enrolled by the Supreme Court as a certified shorthand reporter or licensed shorthand reporter shall thereupon receive an appropriate certificate signed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and attested by the Clerk. In addition thereto, each person enrolled as a certified shorthand reporter shall be entitled to use the abbreviation C.S.R. after his/her name, and those who are residents of the State of Oklahoma shall receive from the Board, without additional charge, astamp/seal with his/her name and the words "Oklahoma Certified Shorthand Reporter" embossed thereon. Each person enrolled as a licensed shorthand reporter shall be entitled to use the abbreviation L.S.R. after his/her name and those who are residents of the State of Oklahoma shall receive from the Board, without additional charge, a stamp/seal with his/her name and the words "Oklahoma Licensed Shorthand Reporter" embossed thereon.
Rule 16. Duplicate Certificates
Upon the written request of a certificate holder, accompanied by an affidavit showing to its satisfaction the loss, mutilation or destruction of his/her original certificate, the Board may authorize the issuance of a duplicate certificate.
Rule 17. Change of Name or Address
Whenever the certificate holder changes his/her name according to law and presents evidence satisfactory to the Board, upon surrender of the original certificate, the Board shall authorize the issuance of a duplicate certificate setting forth the name of the certificate holder as changed.
It is the responsibility of each certified, licensed or acting shorthand reporter to notify the Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts of any change of name or address.
Rule 18. Roll
The Secretary of the Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts shall keep a current roll of certified, licensed shorthand reporters, official or unofficial, regular or temporary or acting shorthand reporters. All mailings by the Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts concerning certificate or license renewal fees, continuing education or a possible disciplinary violation shall be made to the most recent address that the license or certificate holder has provided to the Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Rule 19. Reciprocity
It shall be the responsibility of the Board to recommend to the Supreme Court for approval the court reporter tests deemed equivalent to the Registered Professional Reporter Examination of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), pursuant to 20 O.S. § 1503[ 20-1503]. A person holding a current certificate from another state who has passed an examine holder of a Certificate of Proficiency or Certificate of Merit issued by indicating that he/she has passed an test approved by the Supreme Court or who is the holder of current Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) or Registered Merit Reporter (RMR) status with the National Shorthand Reporters Association, may be enrolled without examination as an Oklahoma certified shorthand reporter upon satisfying the Board that his credential are in proper order and that he is a resident of Oklahoma will not be required to take the skills examinations required by 20 O.S. 2003 § 1503[ 20-1503] B. 1. The applicant must, prior to certification, pass the Oklahoma written knowledge portion of the examination.
Rule 20. Renewal Fees
a. The biennial renewal fee for all persons enrolled as certified or license shorthand reporters is $40.00, which shall be due January 1st of each dues period or as determined by the Board, with the approval of the Supreme Court. The amount of the renewal fee shall be set by the Board, with the approval of the Supreme Court and shall be paid to the Clerk of the Supreme Court Administrative Director of the Courts. Six months shall be allowed for the payment of the biennial renewal fee by each certificate or license holder.
b. On July 1st of each year dues period, all certificates or licenses, which have not been renewed by the payment of the annual renewal fee, shall expire be suspended by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.
c. A expired suspended license may be reinstated at any time within the following six four months, up to and including December October 31st, by payment of the delinquent renewal fees and any delinquent payment fee as set by the Board, with the approval of the Supreme Court. After that time, an expired certificate or license shall not be subject to reinstatement without re-examination be revoked by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma and shall not be subject to reinstatement without examination.
Rule 21. Continuing Education
a. All court reporters certified, licensed, or the holder of a temporary certificate as an acting court reporter by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma must complete a total of four (4) hours of continuing education per calendar year.
All official court reporters and all court reporters temporarily employed by the District Courts of Oklahoma, the Workers' Compensation Court and the Corporation Commission must complete one (1) hour of continuing education per calendar year on Oklahoma Court Rules and Procedures. This shall be included in the required four (4) hours of continuing education.
b. Reporters are exempt from this requirement if they file a verified oath requesting exemption with the Board and said exemption is approved by the board. The oath shall include one of the following grounds for exemption:
i. The reporter attained the age of sixty-five (65) before or during the calendar year for which the reporter seeks an exemption; ii. The reporter is a member of the armed forces on full-time active duty during the entire calendar year for which the reporter seeks an exemption; iii. The reporter has provided written verification by a licensed physician that a medical condition has prevented the court reporter from working as a court reporter and completing continuing education for the calendar year for which the reporter seeks an exemption.
c. The following standards will govern the approval of continuing education programs by the Board.
d. The program must have significant intellectual or practical content and its primary objective must be to increase the court reporter's professional competence as a reporter.
e. The program must be offered by a sponsor having substantial, recent experience in offering continuing court reporter education of demonstrated ability to organize and present effectively continuing court reporter education. Demonstrated ability arises partly from the extent to which individuals with court reporter and/or legal training or educational experience are involved in the planning, instruction and supervision of the program.
f. The program itself must be conducted by an individual or group qualified by practical or academic experience. The program including the named advertised participants must be conducted substantially as planned, subject to emergency withdrawals and alterations.
g. Thorough, high quality, readable, and carefully prepared written materials must be made available to all participants at or before the time the course is presented, unless the absence of such materials is recognized as reasonable and approved by the Board. A mere outline without citations or explanatory notations will not be sufficient.
h. The program must be conducted in a comfortable physical setting, conducive to learning and equipped with suitable writing surfaces.
i. Approval may be given for programs where audiovisual recorded or reproduced material is used. Television video programs and motion picture programs with sound shall qualify for CE credit in the same manner as a live CE program provided: (a) the original CE program was approved for CE credit as provided in these regulations or the visual recorded program has been approved by the Board under these rules, and (b) each person attending the visual presentation is provided written material as provided above and there are a minimum of five (5) persons enrolled and in attendance at the presentation of the visually recorded program.
j. Programs that cross academic lines may be considered for approval except for that portion of the education that must be on Oklahoma Court Rules and Procedures.
k. Continuing legal education programs sponsored by the following organizations are presumptively approved for credit, provided that the standards set out in these Rules are met:
• The National Court Reporters Association. This shall include programs approved by the National Court Reporters Association for credit and not conducted by the Association
• The Oklahoma Court Reporters Association.
l. Approved seminars may be advertised in informational brochures and program materials provided by the sponsoring body. The organizations whose programs are presumptively approved shall give adequate notice that a program or seminar it conducts is not approved for CE credit in the event the program or seminar does not meet the standards set forth above. The Board may at any time re-evaluate and grant or revoke presumptive approval of a provider.
m. Any organization not included paragraph k above, desiring approval of a course or program shall apply to the Board by submitting an application in letter form with supporting documentation at least ninety (90) days prior to the date for which the course or program is scheduled. The Secretary of the Board will advise the applicant in writing by mail whether the program is approved or disapproved.
n. The application required by paragraph m, above, must contain the following information, in written form:
1. The location of the training; 2. The date of the training; 3. A complete agenda of the training, to include the faculty; 4. The number of hours of training to be dedicated to Oklahoma Court rules and procedures must be clearly indicated in the request for approval of continuing education credit.
o. A court reporter desiring approval of a course or program which has not otherwise been approved shall apply to the Board by submitting an application in letter form with supporting documentation as follows:
(i) If approval is requested before the course or program is presented the application and supporting documentation shall be submitted at least sixty (60) days prior to the date for which the course or program is scheduled.
(ii) If approval is requested after the applicant has attended a course or program the application and supporting documentation shall be submitted within ninety (90) days after the date the course or program was presented or prior to the end of the calendar year in which the course or program was presented, whichever is earlier.
The Secretary of the Board shall advise the court reporter by mail whether the program is approved or disapproved. If the course is approved, the court reporter(s) attending the course for credit must arrange with the provider to provide directly to the Board a list of attendees as provided in paragraph q below. No verification of attendance will be accepted directly from the court reporter.
p. The provider of an approved continuing education program may announce or indicate as follows:
This course has been approved by the State Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters for ____ hours of CE credit.
q. The Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts, upon approval of a continuing education program or the announcement of a continuing education program by an approved sponsor, may submit to the program provider a list of name and address information for court reporters as listed on the Roll of Certified, Licensed or Acting Court Reporters or mailing labels for those reporters. It is the responsibility of the sponsor to notify court reporters of the training and to request the mailing labels.
r. Within thirty days (30) days following an approved continuing education program the sponsor or accrediting entity shall furnish to the Board and/or the Administrative Office of the Courts an alphabetized list of attendees. No other verification of attendance at any continuing education program will be accepted. No verification of attendance may be made directly by the court reporter to the Board.
s. On or before February 15th of each year, every person with the status of certified, licensed or acting court reporter granted by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma shall submit a report on a form as prescribed by the Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts all information concerning such court reporter's completion of, or approved substitute for, the minimum hours of instruction for the proceeding calendar year.
t. Sponsors of the seminars or courses qualifying for Mandatory Continuing Court Reporter education credits shall keep records of attendance for a period of two (2) years following the date of the course or seminar.
u. Failure to complete the continuing education and to document the completion of same may result in the suspension, revocation, or cancellation of the court reporters' license or certificate by the Board, upon approval of the Supreme Court.