II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3595 

To award grants to States to establish or improve, and carry out, Seal 

of Biliteracy programs to recognize high-level student proficiency in 

speaking, reading, and writing in both English and a second language, 

and early language programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 17, 2024 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

Ms. WARREN, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To award grants to States to establish or improve, and 

carry out, Seal of Biliteracy programs to recognize highlevel student proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in both English and a second language, and early 

language programs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Biliteracy Education 

5 Seal and Teaching Act’’ or the ‘‘BEST Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The people of the United States celebrate 

4 cultural and linguistic diversity and seek to prepare 

5 students with skills to succeed in the 21st century. 

6 (2) It is fitting to commend the dedication of 

7 students who have achieved proficiency in multiple 

8 languages and to encourage their peers to follow in 

9 their footsteps. 

10 (3) The congressionally requested Commission 

11 on Language Learning, in its 2017 report ‘‘Amer12 ica’s Languages: Investing in Language Education 

13 for the 21st Century’’, notes the pressing national 

14 need for more people of the United States who are 

15 proficient in 2 or more languages for national secu16 rity, economic growth, and the fulfillment of the po17 tential of all people of the United States. 

18 (4) The Commission on Language Learning 

19 also notes the extensive cognitive, educational, and 

20 employment benefits deriving from biliteracy. 

21 (5) Biliteracy in general correlates with higher 

22 graduation rates, higher grade point averages, high23 er rates of matriculation into higher education, and 

24 higher earnings for all students, regardless of back25 ground. 


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1 (6) The study of America’s languages in ele2 mentary and secondary schools should be encouraged 

3 because it contributes to a student’s cognitive devel4 opment and to the national economy and security. 

5 (7) Recognition of student achievement in lan6 guage proficiency will enable institutions of higher 

7 education and employers to readily recognize and ac8 knowledge the valuable expertise of bilingual stu9 dents in academia and the workplace. 

10 (8) States such as Utah, Arizona, Washington, 

11 and New Mexico have developed innovative testing 

12 methods for languages, including Native American 

13 languages, where no formal proficiency test currently 

14 exists. 

15 (9) The use of proficiency in a government-rec16 ognized official Native American language as the 

17 base language for a Seal of Biliteracy, with pro18 ficiency in any additional partner language dem19 onstrated through tested proficiency, has been suc20 cessfully demonstrated in Hawaii. 

21 (10) Students in every State and every school 

22 should be able to benefit from a Seal of Biliteracy 

23 program. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen2 tary school’’, ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘local educational 

3 agency’’, ‘‘middle grades’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and 

4 ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec5 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

7 (2) CLASSICAL LANGUAGE.—The term ‘‘clas8 sical language’’— 

9 (A) means— 

10 (i) a language that is no longer spo11 ken; or 

12 (ii) a language— 

13 (I) the spoken varieties of which 

14 diverge further away from the clas15 sical language over time; and 

16 (II) that possesses an inde17 pendent literary tradition and a large 

18 body of ancient written literature; and 

19 (B) includes Greek, Latin, Chinese, Arabic, 

20 and Sanskrit. 

21 (3) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE.—The term 

22 ‘‘Native American language’’ has the meaning given 

23 the term in section 103 of the Native American Lan24 guages Act (25 U.S.C. 2902). 


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1 (4) SEAL OF BILITERACY PROGRAM.—The term 

2 ‘‘Seal of Biliteracy program’’ means any program 

3 described in section 4(a) that is established or im4 proved, and carried out, with funds received under 

5 this Act. 

6 (5) SECOND LANGUAGE.—The term ‘‘second 

7 language’’— 

8 (A) means any language other than— 

9 (i) English; or 

10 (ii) in a case where the provisions of 

11 paragraph (2) of section 4(a) apply, the 

12 Native American language of proficiency 

13 described in such paragraph; and 

14 (B) includes Braille, American Sign Lan15 guage, or a classical language. 

16 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Education. 

18 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATE SEAL OF BILITERACY PRO19 GRAMS. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail22 able under subsection (f), the Secretary shall award 

23 grants, on a competitive basis, to States to enable 

24 the States to establish or improve, and carry out, 

25 Seal of Biliteracy programs and early language proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jan 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3595.IS S3595

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1 grams that lead to a Seal of Biliteracy to recognize 

2 student proficiency in both English and a second 

3 language, which— 

4 (A) shall be demonstrated through pro5 ficiency in speaking and writing in both lan6 guages; and 

7 (B) may also be demonstrated through 

8 reading and listening in both languages. 

9 (2) INCLUSION OF NATIVE AMERICAN LAN10 GUAGES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), each Seal 

11 of Biliteracy program shall contain provisions allow12 ing the use of Native American languages, including 

13 allowing speakers of any Native American language 

14 recognized as official by any American government, 

15 including any Tribal government, to use equivalent 

16 proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in the 

17 Native American language in lieu of proficiency in 

18 speaking, reading, and writing in English. 

19 (3) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

20 section shall be for a period of 2 years, and may be 

21 renewed at the discretion of the Secretary. 

22 (4) RENEWAL.—At the end of a grant term, a 

23 State that receives a grant under this section may 

24 reapply for a grant under this section. 


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1 (5) LIMITATIONS.—A State shall not receive 

2 more than 1 grant under this section at any time. 

3 (6) RETURN OF UNSPENT GRANT FUNDS.— 

4 Each State that receives a grant under this section 

5 shall return any unspent grant funds not later than 

6 6 months after the date on which the term for the 

7 grant ends. 

8 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—A State that desires a grant 

9 under this section shall submit an application to the Sec10 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

11 information and assurances as the Secretary may require, 

12 including— 

13 (1) a description of the criteria a student must 

14 meet to demonstrate proficiency for the State Seal 

15 of Biliteracy in both languages, which— 

16 (A) shall include proficiency criteria for the 

17 2 productive skills of speaking and writing; and 

18 (B) may include proficiency criteria for the 

19 skills of reading and listening; 

20 (2) a detailed description of the State’s plan— 

21 (A) to ensure that English learners and 

22 former English learners are included in the 

23 State Seal of Biliteracy program; 

24 (B) to ensure equitable access to the State 

25 Seal of Biliteracy program for students with 


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1 identified disabilities, including vision and hear2 ing impairments and cognitive or learning dis3 abilities, that preclude demonstration of lan4 guage proficiency in one of the skills identified 

5 in paragraph (1); 

6 (C) to ensure that— 

7 (i) all languages, including Native 

8 American languages and American Sign 

9 Language, can be tested for the State Seal 

10 of Biliteracy program; and 

11 (ii) Native American language speak12 ers and learners are included in the State 

13 Seal of Biliteracy program, including stu14 dents at tribally controlled schools and at 

15 schools funded by the Bureau of Indian 

16 Education; and 

17 (D) to reach elementary school and middle 

18 grades students (including eligible students de19 scribed in subsection (c)(2), heritage language 

20 learners, and English learners), their parents, 

21 and schools with information regarding the 

22 State Seal of Biliteracy program; 

23 (3) an assurance that a student who meets the 

24 requirements under paragraph (1) and subsection 

25 (c) receives— 


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1 (A) a permanent seal or other marker on 

2 the student’s secondary school diploma or its 

3 equivalent; or 

4 (B) documentation of proficiency on the 

5 student’s official academic transcript; and 

6 (4) an assurance that a student is not charged 

7 a fee for providing information under subsection 

8 (c)(1). 

9 (c) STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN A SEAL OF

10 BILITERACY PROGRAM.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—To participate in a Seal of 

12 Biliteracy program, a student shall provide informa13 tion to the State that serves the student at such 

14 time, in such manner, and including such informa15 tion and assurances as the State may require, in16 cluding an assurance that the student has met the 

17 criteria established by the State under subsection 

18 (b)(1). 

19 (2) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPA20 TION.—A student who gained proficiency in a second 

21 language outside of school may apply to the State of 

22 the student’s residence under paragraph (1) to par23 ticipate in a Seal of Biliteracy program. 

24 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds made available 

25 under this section shall be used for— 


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1 (1) the administrative costs of establishing or 

2 improving, and carrying out, a Seal of Biliteracy 

3 program that meets the requirements of subsection 

4 (b); 

5 (2) public outreach and education about the 

6 Seal of Biliteracy program; and 

7 (3) subgrants to local educational agencies for 

8 language educator professional development, public 

9 outreach, and subsidizing baseline and final Seal of 

10 Biliteracy testing for low-income students. 

11 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after receiv12 ing a grant under this section, a State shall issue a report 

13 to the Secretary describing the implementation of the Seal 

14 of Biliteracy program for which the State received the 

15 grant. 

16 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

18 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

Æ 


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