,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bedi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #bg1 #bjac ,ms4
 ,brownley of ,california 7for herself1 
,mr4 ,vargas1 and ,mrs4 ,napolitano7    
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,education and the ,workforce  ,a ,,bill
  ,to award grants to ,states to        
establish a ,seal of ,biliteracy program
 to recognize high-level student        
proficiency in speaking1 reading1 and   
writing in both ,english and a second   
language4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,biliteracy         
,education ,seal and ,teaching ,act or  
the ,,best ,act4  #b4 ,findings         
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,the people of the ,united ,states      
celebrate cultural and linguistic       
diversity and seek to prepare students  
with skills to succeed in the #bast     
century4  7#b7 ,it is fitting to commend
 the dedication of students who have    
achieved proficiency in multiple        

languages and to encourage their peers  
to follow in their footsteps4  7#c7 ,the
 study of world languages in elementary 
and secondary schools should be         
encouraged because it contributes to a  
student's cognitive development and to  
the national economy and security4  7#d7
 ,recognition of student achievement in 
language proficiency will enable        
institutions of higher education and    
employers to readily recognize and      
acknowledge the valuable expertise of   
bilingual students in academia and the  
workplace4  7#e7 ,california has        
pioneered the first ,state system in the
 ,nation to recognize students for      
achieving proficiency in multiple       
languages4 ,in #bjab1 ,california       
awarded a ,seal of ,biliteracy to over  
#aj1jjj graduating high school seniors  
in #cg school districts4  7#f7 ,students
 in every ,state should be able to      
benefit from a ,seal of ,biliteracy     
program4  #c4 ,state ,seal of           
,biliteracy program  7a7 ,establishment 

,the ,secretary of ,education shall     
award grants to ,states to establish or 
improve a ,seal of ,biliteracy program  
to recognize student proficiency in     
speaking1 reading1 and writing in both  
,english and a second language4  7b7    
,grant application ,in order to receive 
a grant under this section1 a ,state    
shall submit an application to the      
,secretary at such time1 in such manner1
 and containing such information and    
assurances as the ,secretary may        
require1 including--  7#a7 a description
 of the criteria a student must meet to 
demonstrate proficiency in speaking1    
reading1 and writing in both ,english   
and a second language2  7#b7 assurances 
that a student who meets the            
requirements under paragraph 7#a7--     
7,a7 receives a permanent seal or other 
marker on the student's secondary school
 diploma or its equivalent2 and  7,b7   
receives documentation of proficiency in
 the student's official academic        
transcript2 and  7#c7 assurances that a 

student is not charged a fee for        
submitting an application under         
subsection 7c74  7c7 ,student           
participation in a ,seal of ,biliteracy 
program ,to participate in a ,seal of   
,biliteracy program1 a student must     
submit an application to the ,state that
 serves the student at such time1 in    
such manner1 and containing such        
information and assurances as the ,state
 may require1 including assurances that 
the student--  7#a7 will receive a      
secondary school diploma or its         
equivalent in the year the student      
submits an application2 and  7#b7 has   
met the criteria established by the     
,state under subsection 7b77#a74  7d7   
,student eligibility for application ,a 
student who gained proficiency in a     
second language outside of school may   
apply to participate in a ,seal of      
,biliteracy program under subsection    
7c74  7e7 ,use of funds ,grant funds    
made available under this section shall 
be used for administrative costs of     

establishing or improving and carrying  
out a ,seal of ,biliteracy program and  
for public outreach and education about 
that program4  7f7 ,grant terms  7#a7   
,duration ,a grant awarded under this   
section shall be for a period of #b     
years1 and may be renewed at the        
discretion of the ,secretary4  7#b7     
,renewal ,at the end of a grant term1   
the recipient of such grant may reapply 
for a grant under this section4  7#c7   
,limitations ,a grant recipient under   
this section shall not have more than #a
 grant under this section at anytime4   
7#d7 ,return of unspent grant funds ,not
 later than #f months after the date on 
which a grant term ends1 a recipient of 
a grant under this section shall return 
any unspent grant funds to the          
,secretary4  7g7 ,report ,not later than
 #i months after receiving a grant under
 this section1 a grant recipient shall  
issue a report to the ,secretary        
describing the implementation of the    
,seal of ,biliteracy program4  7h7      

,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7    
,,esea definitions ,the terms secondary 
school1 ,secretary1 and ,state have the 
meanings given those terms in section   
#iaja of the ,elementary and ,secondary 
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ghja74  7#b7 ,second language ,the term
 second language means any language     
other than ,english1 including ,braille 
and ,american ,sign ,language4  7#c7    
,seal of ,biliteracy program ,the term  
,seal of ,biliteracy program means any  
program established under section #c of 
this ,act4  7i7 ,authorization of       
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to the ,secretary       
#aj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    
#bjae through #bjai to carry out this   
section4