Bill > S336

This bill establishes the State Seal of Biliteracy, a recognition for high school graduates who demonstrate advanced proficiency in speaking, reading, writing, and listening in one or more languages besides English, including American Sign Language. The program aims to encourage language study, certify biliteracy, assist employers in identifying individuals with language skills, help universities recognize academic achievement, equip students with 21st-century skills, promote foreign and heritage language instruction in public schools, and foster stronger intergroup relationships by valuing diversity and the Commonwealth's many cultures and languages. The Secretary of Education will oversee the program, providing insignia for diplomas and transcripts, while the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association and considering national trends, will develop the specific criteria for awarding the seal, which participating school districts will then implement by identifying eligible students and affixing the insignia to their academic records, with electronic versions also being available.