Hawaii Seal of Biliteracy

Seal of Biliteracy Status

Approved State Seal

Adoption Date

2015-06-16

Website(s)

Visit Site

State Contact(s)

Emily Lam
biliteracy@hawaiidoe.k12.hi.us

Hawaii State Info:

The Board of Education hereby establishes a Seal of Biliteracy to be awarded upon graduation to students who demonstrate a high proficiency in either of the State’s two official languages and at least one additional language, including American Sign Language; provided that a student who demonstrates a high proficiency in both of the State’s two official languages shall be awarded a Seal of Biliteracy.

Student can quality for the Seal of Biliteracy in Hawaii if they are:

Fluent in English and Hawaiian (the State’s two official languages)
Fluent in English and an additional language other than Hawaiian
Fluent in Hawaiian and an additional language other than English

Hawaii Seal of Biliteracy Updates

Oct-20-2015

Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland and Senator Michelle Kidani have introduced into the 28th Legislature State of Hawaii, Senate Bill 900 to establish the State Seal of Biliteracy in Hawaii.
Oct-20-2015

Board members approved a policy that establishes a Seal of Biliteracy for the state’s public school students.

Recent State Updates

- North Dakota
- Feb-19-2019
- The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) is proud to announce the implementation of the North Dakota Seal of Biliteracy (NDSB) award program. The NDSB is an award presented to graduating students who have demonstrated proficiency in a language in addition to English.
  
  North Dakota joins more than half of the nation in awarding a Seal of Biliteracy. The NDSB is established to recognize students and provide an identifier of this accomplishment for employers and post-secondary institutions. The NDSB serves to inspire the implementation of biliteracy programs and pathways of language development in districts across the state and help districts demonstrate value in diversity/culture.
  
  The NDSB is awarded by the NDDPI according to the specific criteria presented in the attached guidance document. Each student will receive a physical foil seal on their high school diploma, a certificate from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and an identifier on the student's eTranscript. School district participation in the program is completely voluntary.
  
  Please review the attached documents and determine how this program could be implemented in the district. Additional information is available on the NDDPI website.
- Iowa
- Apr-18-2018
- Palm Beach School District has just approved the Seal of Biliteracy. Miami Dade School District approved it last week.
  - Dr. Andrés Ramírez
  Assistant Professor
  Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry
  Florida Atlantic University
- Iowa
- Apr-18-2018
- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie approved a statewide Seal of Biliteracy. The legislation passed earlier this month by the New Jersey Senate (37-0) and New Jersey Assembly (72-2).
- Iowa
- Apr-18-2018
- Does anyone have any tools or strategies to assess less common languages? I wonder if there are easily-understood checklists that volunteers can use to assess student work?
- Vermont
- Feb-11-2018
- Over 100 high school students earned the "Arkansas Biliteracy Award" certification in October 2017. The Arkansas Biliteracy Committee, a partnership with AFLTA (Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association) and ARKTESOL (Arkansas Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages), is moving forward with data collection and packaging for the "Seal of Biliteracy" proposal this spring. The website is www.ARbiliteracy.org