I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1731 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2021 

Ms. BROWNLEY (for herself, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. PRICE

of North Carolina, Ms. NORTON, Ms. TITUS, Ms. CHU, Ms. LEGER

FERNANDEZ, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. 

SAN NICOLAS, and Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

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. 

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 two or more languages for national se16 curity, economic growth, and the fulfillment of the 

17 potential 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 ‘‘English 

2 learner’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the 

3 meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the 

4 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

6 (2) NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES.—The term 

7 ‘‘Native American languages’’ has the meaning given 

8 the term in section 103 of the Native American Lan9 guages Act (25 U.S.C. 2902). 

10 (3) SEAL OF BILITERACY PROGRAM.—The term 

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

12 described in section 4(a) that is established or im13 proved, and carried out, with funds received under 

14 this Act. 

15 (4) SECOND LANGUAGE.—The term ‘‘second 

16 language’’ means any language other than English 

17 (or a Native American language, pursuant to section 

18 4(a)(2)), including Braille, American Sign Lan19 guage, or a Classical language. 

20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Education. 

22 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATE SEAL OF BILITERACY PRO23 GRAMS. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail2 able under subsection (f), the Secretary shall award 

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

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

5 Seal of Biliteracy programs to recognize student 

6 proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in both 

7 English and a second language. 

8 (2) INCLUSION OF NATIVE AMERICAN LAN9 GUAGES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), each Seal 

10 of Biliteracy program shall contain provisions allow11 ing the use of Native American languages, including 

12 allowing speakers of any Native American language 

13 recognized as official by any American government, 

14 including any Tribal government, to use equivalent 

15 proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in the 

16 Native American language in lieu of proficiency in 

17 speaking, reading, and writing in English. 

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

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

20 renewed at the discretion of the Secretary. 

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

22 State that receives a grant under this section may 

23 reapply for a grant under this section. 

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

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


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1 (6) RETURN OF UNSPENT GRANT FUNDS.— 

2 Each State that receives a grant under this section 

3 shall return any unspent grant funds not later than 

4 6 months after the date on which the term for the 

5 grant ends. 

6 (b) GRANT APPLICATION.—A State that desires a 

7 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 

8 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

9 such information and assurances as the Secretary may re10 quire, including— 

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

12 meet to demonstrate the proficiency in speaking, 

13 reading, and writing in both languages necessary for 

14 the State Seal of Biliteracy program; 

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

16 (A) to ensure that English learners and 

17 former English learners are included in the 

18 State Seal of Biliteracy program; 

19 (B) to ensure that— 

20 (i) all languages, including Native 

21 American languages, can be tested for the 

22 State Seal of Biliteracy program; and 

23 (ii) Native American language speak24 ers and learners are included in the State 

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1 dents at tribally controlled schools and at 

2 schools funded by the Bureau of Indian 

3 Education; and 

4 (C) to reach students, including eligible 

5 students described in subsection (c)(2) and 

6 English learners, their parents, and schools 

7 with information regarding the State Seal of 

8 Biliteracy program; 

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

10 requirements under paragraph (1) and subsection 

11 (c) receives— 

12 (A) a permanent seal or other marker on 

13 the student’s secondary school diploma or its 

14 equivalent; and 

15 (B) documentation of proficiency on the 

16 student’s official academic transcript; and 

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

18 a fee for providing information under subsection 

19 (c)(1). 

20 (c) STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN A SEAL OF

21 BILITERACY PROGRAM.— 

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

23 Biliteracy program, a student shall provide informa24 tion to the State that serves the student at such 

25 time, in such manner, and including such informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1731.IH H1731

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1 tion and assurances as the State may require, in2 cluding an assurance that the student has met the 

3 criteria established by the State under subsection 

4 (b)(1). 

5 (2) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPA6 TION.—A student who gained proficiency in a second 

7 language outside of school may apply under para8 graph (1) to participate in a Seal of Biliteracy pro9 gram. 

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

11 under this section shall be used for— 

12 (1) the administrative costs of establishing or 

13 improving, and carrying out, a Seal of Biliteracy 

14 program that meets the requirements of subsection 

15 (b); and 

16 (2) public outreach and education about the 

17 Seal of Biliteracy program. 

18 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after receiv19 ing a grant under this section, a State shall issue a report 

20 to the Secretary describing the implementation of the Seal 

21 of Biliteracy program for which the State received the 

22 grant. 


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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

Æ 


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