Amendment #10 to H3736

State Seal of Biliteracy

Representatives Jones of North Reading, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough, Gifford of Wareham, Frost of Auburn and Smola of Warren move to amend the bill by inserting the following new section:-

"SECTION XX. The department of elementary and secondary education shall convene a task force to study the feasibility of establishing a State Seal of Biliteracy. The task force shall consist of 13 members: the commissioner of the department of elementary and secondary education, or a designee; the secretary of the executive office of education, or a designee; the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on education, or their designees; 1 member of the senate, appointed by the senate president; 1 member of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker; 1 member of the senate, appointed by the minority leader; 1 member of the house of representatives, appointed by the minority leader; 1 representative of the Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages; 1 representative of the Massachusetts Association for Bilingual Education; 1 representative of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association; and 2 superintendents, appointed by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, Inc., one of whom shall be from a school district that serves high concentrations of English language learners, and one of whom shall be from a school district that currently operates a program for recognizing students who have attained Biliteracy.

The task force shall: (i) recommend criteria and guidelines for a State Seal of Biliteracy to be awarded by school districts to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages in addition to English; and (ii) identify academic benchmarks that must be met in order for a student to be awarded a State Seal of Biliteracy.

The task force shall file a report containing its finding and any recommendations with the joint committee on education, and the clerks of the house and the senate not later than January 1, 2018."