The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) officially recognized hundreds of local high school seniors at a ceremony yesterday, celebrating their linguistic accomplishments. Students received the State Seal of Biliteracy—awarded to seniors who have demonstrated English competency, plus competency in another language, by meeting specific criteria.
Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly was the keynote speaker at the ceremony, which was held at San Juan High School. More than 1,500 students in Sacramento County earned the State Seal of Biliteracy, which was established in 2011 by California Assembly Bill 815.
To earn the Seal, students must demonstrate English competency by meeting specific state requirements and receiving good grades in all English classes required for high school graduation. Language competency must be demonstrated through a four-year course of study in a world language or by passing a test (such as the Advanced Placement exam or a school district language examination).
In addition to English, this year’s State Seal of Biliteracy recipients in Sacramento County are proficient in 19 other languages, including: Arabic, American Sign Language (ASL), Cantonese, Farsi, French, German, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Mandarin, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Several students earned Seals in multiple languages.
Participating Sacramento County School Districts and Charter Schools
- Center Joint Unified School District
- Folsom Cordova Unified School District
- Elk Grove Unified School District
- Futures High School
- Galt Joint Union High School District
- Heritage Peak Charter School
- Natomas Unified School District
- River Delta Unified School District
- Sacramento City Unified School District
- San Juan Unified School District
- Twin Rivers Unified School District
- Visions in Education