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From http://www.daily-journal.com/news/illinois/schools-want-to-honor-bilingual-students/article_1347e7dd-6c81-5cff-85cf-6683ed76efff.html

Schools want to honor bilingual students
September 4, 2014

Illinois is expected soon to be one of a handful of states that formally recognize students' mastery of two or more languages.

State Board of Education officials announced Tuesday they're moving forward with an initiative awarding students with a "Seal of Biliteracy" on high school diplomas and academic transcripts if a high level of proficiency in one or more languages besides English is met.

The initiative was authorized through legislation signed by Gov. Pat Quinn last summer. A 12-member legislative committee is tasked with reviewing the program's proposed rules this fall.

If approved by the panel, Illinois will join states including California and New York in offering seals to graduating students this school year.

Illinois education officials hope that offering the biliteracy seal will inspire students to learn multiple languages.

About 8.2 percent of Illinois students study English as a second language, one of the highest percentages in the U.S. Most ESL students are in the western states with the overall percentage in the 2011-12 school year is 9.1 percent, or an estimated 4.4 million students, according to the National Center of Education Statistics.