State Seal of Biliteracy

Promoting Bilingualism

Recognizing Unit 5 high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English, by designating on a student’s transcript and high school diploma his or her receipt of the State Seal of Biliteracy, provided that all the conditions of the Seal are met. Applicants who used the SAT to document English proficiency for the Seal or Commendation must achieve a minimum score of 480 on the English Language Arts portion of the SAT. Students can demonstrate English proficiency for the State Seal of Biliteracy by obtaining a 20 on the ELA portion of the ACT exam. An ACT composite score of 21 is also acceptable. English Learner students who are working toward the Seal may also use an ACCESS score of 4.8 overall achieved during high school.

Obtaining the Seal

Unit 5 Schools will offer both the Seal and Commendation to graduates. Students will qualify through demonstrating proficiency on the AP Language and Culture exam for Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese as well as meeting the college readiness benchmarks for the SAT or, for students who are English Learners, by meeting the IL proficiency criteria on ACCESS 2.0.

The District will offer support through the high school Guidance Counselors and Foreign Language teachers who can support students as they plan and prepare to apply for the Seal or Commendation.

The District will recognize students who earn the Commendation and the Seal by affixing the Seal or Commendation to the student’s transcript and diploma.