Amendment #13 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 14 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; 1 representative from the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education; 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 examine: (i) criteria or guidelines that would need to be established to award a state Seal of Biliteracy; (ii) the academic benchmarks that would need to be met in order for a student to be awarded such a Seal; (iii) potential costs associated with implementing such a Seal; (iv) the need for any additional assessments, state or local; and (v) the benefits to students of receiving such a Seal, including English Language Learners as well as native English speakers.

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."