Biliteracy Would Get Federal Boost in Proposed Legislation

From http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/07/biliteracy_would_get_federal_b.html

Biliteracy Would Get Federal Boost in Proposed Legislation
By Lesli A. Maxwell
July 8, 2013

States seeking to grant special recognition to their multilingual high school graduates would get a big boost from the federal government under new legislation introduced by a California congresswoman.

U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, a Democrat, introduced the Biliteracy Education Seal and Teaching (BEST) Act late last month, a measure that would create grants in the U.S. Department of Education to help states that want to establish "seal of biliteracy" programs that support and recognize students who demonstrate proficiency in English and at least one other language.

Brownley sponsored similar legislation in California, the first state to offer a seal of biliteracy to its high school graduates. New York followed suit last year. Illinois lawmakers approved a seal of biliteracy bill late last month—that measure awaits the governor's signature.

The federal grants—which Brownley's bill proposes to be $10 million annually from fiscal 2015 through fiscal 2019—would be used to cover the administrative costs of setting up and carrying out a seal of biliteracy program, as well as for public outreach.

Read the full article at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/07/biliteracy_would_get_federal_b.html