State Board Moves Forward With`Seal of Biliteracy’

Certificate recognizes high level of proficiency in one or more languages, in addition to English

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois State Board of Education is moving forward with an initiative that aims to promote mastery in two or more languages. The state is among the first in the country to allow school districts to award a State Seal of Biliteracy for students who demonstrate a high level of proficiency in one or more languages, in addition to English. The Seal would be placed on a student’s academic transcript and diploma.

“Language skills are increasingly valuable in today’s global economy,” said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. “The Seal will help promote and acknowledge the great value and many benefits that come with being multilingual and multicultural.”

Illinois was the third state to pass legislation offering a Seal of Biliteracy, joining California and New York.  States such as New Mexico, Washington and Louisiana are among those that have since passed legislation offering the Seal as well.

Illinois education officials hope the Seal will inspire students to pursue biliteracy, recognize students who excel in language skills, and provide evidence of these achievements to future employers and college admissions offices.

“We hope the opportunity to earn this credential will be another tool to encourage schools to offer foreign language earlier in students’ education, ideally before high school,” said Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. “Even with the rigorous process proposed for earning this Seal, we expect thousands of Illinois students will attain this credential within a few years.”

School districts will use the language proficiency standards established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to qualify for the State Seal of Biliteracy program, which is optional for districts. The proposed rules also include standards for proficiency in American Sign Language, which is defined in the law as a foreign language for purposes of qualifying for the State Seal of Biliteracy.

In addition to demonstrating proficiency in a target foreign language, a student also must demonstrate proficiency in English in order to qualify for the State Seal of Biliteracy.

“The Seal of Biliteracy capitalizes and validates the linguistic assets that many students already bring to Illinois classrooms and will motivate all students to add an important skill set for college and career readiness,” said Josie Yanguas, chair of the Illinois Advisory Council for Bilingual Education and director of the Illinois Resource Center. “I hope that many Illinois school districts will consider adopting and implementing the Illinois Seal of Biliteracy.”

In the 2012-13 school year, Illinois enrolled more than 200,000 EL students. That’s about 10 percent of the state’s more than 2 million public school students.  While the majority of EL students attend schools in Chicago and the collar counties and speak Spanish, EL students in Illinois speak more than 160 languages, in addition to English. The chart to the right lists the 10 most common languages spoken by English Learners in Illinois.

The following chart highlights the 25 districts with the highest number of EL students, broken down by number and percentage of Spanish-speaking students and non-English-, non-Spanish-speaking students, based on data from the 2012-13 school year.

Illinois districts with most EL students