The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) officially recognized hundreds of local high school seniors at a ceremony today, 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.
Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Cathy Rodriguez served as keynote speaker for the ceremony, held at the Folsom High School Theatre. Countywide, more than 1,200 students 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 scoring proficient on the California Standards Test in English language arts and receive good grades in all English classes required for high school graduation. In addition, students must demonstrate language competency by taking a four-year course of study in a world language or passing a test (such as the Advanced Placement exam).
In addition to English, this year's Seal of Biliteracy recipients in Sacramento County are proficient in 14 other languages, including: Arabic, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Hmong, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, 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
- Futures High School (charter)
- Galt Joint Union High School District
- Heritage Peak Charter SchoolNatomas Pacific Pathways Prep Charter
- 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 Charter School