§ 815. State seal of biliteracy. 1.
(a)The state seal of biliteracy\nis established to recognize high school graduates who have attained a\nhigh level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing\nin one or more languages in addition to English. The state seal of\nbiliteracy shall be awarded by the commissioner. School district\nparticipation in this program is voluntary.\n (b) The purposes of the state seal of biliteracy are as follows:\n (1) To encourage pupils to study languages.\n (2) To certify attainment of biliteracy.\n (3) To provide employers with a method of identifying people with\nlanguage and biliteracy skills.\n (4) To provide universities with an additional method to recognize\napplicants seeking admission.\n (5) To prepare pupils with twenty-first ce
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§ 815. State seal of biliteracy. 1. (a) The state seal of biliteracy\nis established to recognize high school graduates who have attained a\nhigh level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing\nin one or more languages in addition to English. The state seal of\nbiliteracy shall be awarded by the commissioner. School district\nparticipation in this program is voluntary.\n (b) The purposes of the state seal of biliteracy are as follows:\n (1) To encourage pupils to study languages.\n (2) To certify attainment of biliteracy.\n (3) To provide employers with a method of identifying people with\nlanguage and biliteracy skills.\n (4) To provide universities with an additional method to recognize\napplicants seeking admission.\n (5) To prepare pupils with twenty-first century skills.\n (6) To recognize the value of foreign language and native language\ninstruction in public schools. For the purpose of this section foreign\nlanguage means any language other than English (LOTE) including all\nmodern languages, Latin, American Sign Language, Native American\nlanguages and native languages.\n (7) To strengthen intergroup relationships, affirm the value of\ndiversity, and honor the multiple cultures and languages of a community.\n 2. (a) The state seal of biliteracy certifies attainment of a high\nlevel of proficiency by a graduating high school pupil in one or more\nlanguages, in addition to English.\n (b) The board of regents shall promulgate such regulations of the\ncommissioner as may be necessary to establish the criteria that students\nmust achieve to earn a state seal of biliteracy, which may include, but\nis not limited to attainment of units of credit in English language arts\nand languages other than English, passage of state assessments in\nEnglish language arts and language other than English, and passage of\nsuch additional assessments of foreign language proficiency as may be\napproved by the commissioner for this purpose.\n (c) For purposes of this section, foreign language means any language\nother than English (LOTE) including all modern languages, Latin,\nAmerican Sign Language, Native American languages and native languages.\n 3. The commissioner shall do both of the following:\n (a) Prepare and deliver to participating school districts an\nappropriate insignia to be affixed to the diploma and transcript of the\npupil indicating that the pupil has been awarded a state seal of\nbiliteracy by the commissioner.\n (b) Provide other information he or she deems necessary for school\ndistricts to successfully participate in the program.\n 4. A school district that participates in the program under this\nsection shall do both of the following:\n (a) Maintain appropriate records in order to identify pupils who have\nearned a state seal of biliteracy.\n (b) Affix the appropriate insignia to the diploma and transcript of\neach pupil who earns a state seal of biliteracy.\n 5. No fee shall be charged to a pupil pursuant to this section.\n