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From http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2019/05/seal_of_biliteracy_equity_ells.html

As More States Adopt Bilingualism Seal, Equity Concerns Arise
By Corey Mitchell
May 13, 2019

When the seal of biliteracy launched in California nearly a decade ago, its advocates envisioned an honor that would recognize English-language learners and native English speakers alike.

But the way the seal is promoted and implemented in schools may be shutting English-learners and low-income students out of the process, a new study from Georgetown University argues.

Interest in the seal—which is affixed to high school diplomas or transcripts as official proof that students can speak, read, and write in more than one language—has surged across the country, with nearly 40 states and the District of Columbia now offering special recognition for graduates who demonstrate fluency in two or more languages.

Some schools, especially whiter, wealthier schools with fewer English-learners, are more likely to offer the recognition than others, the Georgetown study, "Recognizing Whose Bilingualism? A Critical Policy Analysis of the Seal of Biliteracy," found.

While the researchers discovered that demographic information on students earning the seal is not tracked in many states, the work suggests that English-learners and students from low-income families may be on the wrong side of an equity gap, with their opportunities to demonstrate their bilingualism restricted by their circumstances.

Read the full article at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2019/05/seal_of_biliteracy_equity_ells.html

The report, "Recognizing Whose Bilingualism? A Critical Policy Analysis of the Seal of Biliteracy," is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/modl.12556