The MATSOL Board of Directors applauds the passage of the LOOK Bill with the Seal of Biliteracy, which will allow school districts to establish English Learner programs that best meet the needs of students, recognize the assets that bilingual students bring to our schools, and encourage increased language learning for all students.

We would like to express our deep appreciation to Governor Charlie Baker, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, Senate President Stan Rosenberg, the bill sponsors Senator Sal DiDomenico and Chairman Jeffrey Sanchez, and Education Committee Chairs Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz and Representative Alice Peisch for supporting this legislation. In addition, we are grateful to Senator Karen Spilka and Representative Kay Kahn for championing the Seal of Biliteracy.

This webinar gives an introduction of the national Seal of Biliteracy movement and an overview of the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project, including the updated resources and experience gained from the third year of the pilot. (Recorded by the Language Opportunity Coalition on Oct 10, 2017) 

The revised Seal of Biliteracy Toolkit is now available for download!

The toolkit was revised and updated with input from schools that participated in the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project during the 2016-17 school year. The revised toolkit includes new resources for use in implementing the Seal of Biliteracy:

Please join us for a complimentary Webinar on the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot implementation in Massachusetts (now in its third year). The webinar will discuss the creation of resources and supports for use by school districts, and an update on the legislative status of the state Seal of Biliteracy bill. The webinar is presented by MaFLA, MABE, MATSOL and the Language Opportunity Coalition.

The Seal of Biliteracy is a national movement to document and reward students for attaining biliteracy in two or more languages. Twenty seven states currently have enacted Seal of Biliteracy legislation and we hope MA will be next!

The LOOK Bill — H.3705/S.2070 An Act for language opportunity for our kids — was reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on Education and and referred to the House & Senate Committees on Ways and Means.

The LOOK Bill removes the restrictive mandate requiring Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) as the “one size fits all” default English Language Learner (ELL) program model, and gives school districts the flexibility to establish programs based on the educational needs of their students. It also establishes a state Seal of Biliteracy.

Massachusetts Language Opportunity Coalition Statement on the 2015-16 Legislative Session

We are sorry to report that the Massachusetts legislative session ended on January 4, 2017 with failure to pass either the LOOK Bill (H.498/S.262 An Act relative to Language Opportunity for Our Kids) or the Seal of Biliteracy Bill (H.422 An Act to Establish a State Seal of Biliteracy / S.336 An Act to Promote Global Trade and Economic Development through Biliteracy ).

The first Seal of Biliteracy Awards were presented in Massachusetts in the spring of 2016 by schools and school districts participating in the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project.

300+ Award Recipients

• 19      Platinum Seal of Biliteracy (Advanced-Low)
• 55       Gold Seal of Biliteracy (Intermediate-High)
• 208   Silver Seal of Biliteracy (Intermediate-Mid)
• 32      Biliteracy Attainment Award (Intermediate-Low)

8 School Districts

• Andover, Arlington, Boston, Falmouth, Framingham, Melrose, Wilmington, and Winchester, Massachusetts

11 Language Learning Programs

• Middle and high school World Language programs.
• Elementary and middle school Two-Way Immersion (TWI) and Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) programs.

Data collected by the Language Opportunity Coalition.

The updated Seal of Biliteracy Pathway Awards TOOLKIT is now available! The revisions were made as a result of the feedback from the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project. The Seal of Biliteracy Workgroup will consider revisions of the current draft in February 2017 and at the end of the Year 2 Pilot during Summer 2017.

The TOOLKT can be viewed and downloaded on the Language Opportunity Coalition website. 

We are writing with an update on the LOOK bill and Seal of Biliteracy bill. The formal session of the Massachusetts state legislature ended at midnight on July 31st, and we are happy to report that both the Senate and House took action on the LOOK Bill!

The Massachusetts state Senate passed the LOOK Bill on July 7th unanimously with bipartisan support.  This bill gives school districts the flexibility to offer bilingual programming without the need for waivers, and establishes a state Seal of Biliteracy. During the debate, both Senate Ways and Means Chair Karen Spilka and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr voiced their support of the bill – it is quite notable to have two people in leadership on both the Democratic and Republican side speak in favor of a bill on the floor. Just a few weeks later, on July 31, in the flurry of last minute activity, the House passed their version of the LOOK bill.

An op-ed in CommonWealth Magazine by Sen Sonia Chang-Diaz and Sen Sal DiDomenico explaining why we need to pass the LOOK bill in Massachusetts. 

http://commonwealthmagazine.org/education/flexibility-needed-in-educating-english-language-learners/

On July 7, 2016 the Massachusetts Senate passed S.2395 An Act for language opportunity for our kids – the “LOOK bill” – by a unanimous vote.

The LOOK bill gives school districts the flexibility to choose high-quality, research-based programs to meet the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) and establishes the State Seal of Biliteracy to recognize high school graduates who speak, read, and write in two languages, a valuable asset in the 21st century global economy. View the LOOK Bill Fact Sheet …

 On June 30, the the Senate Ways and Means Committee favorably reported out the LOOK bill. The bill has been placed in the Orders of the Day to be heard in the next Senate session on July 7th.

If you have not done so already, please contact your State Senator to urge support for the LOOK Bill!

1. Find contact information for your State Senator.
2. Contact your Senator by phone or email. Suggested language for your message: 
   My name is [NAME] from [ADDRESS]. Please support S2288 An Act relative to Language Opportunity for Our Kids (the LOOK Bill).Now is the time for the Massachusetts legislature to advance language education that foster bilingualism and biliteracy. Approving An Act relative to Language Opportunity for Our Kids (LOOK Bill) S2288 would ensure the academic success of English Language Learners (ELLs) by giving school districts the flexibility to establish language education programs that reflect the true educational needs of our ELLs students. ELLs are a diverse group of students with complex educational needs that cannot be met under the current “one-size-fits-all” program mandate. This bill will remove the current barriers to selecting the best programs for our students, and includes a state Seal of Biliteracy to recognize students who speak, listen, read and write proficiently in another language in addition to English. Thank you in advance for supporting S2288. We hope we can count on you to stand up for language learning programs that will help our students acquire skills to be competitive in the 21st century global job market.

Partnership for a New American Economy, a national bipartisan group of mayors and business leaders, has released a new research brief, Language Diversity and the Workforce: The Growing Need for Bilingual Workers in Massachusetts’ Economy. The report finds that in the past five years, demand for bilingual workers in Massachusetts has more than doubled. The group also calls for the creation of a state Seal of Biliteracy to help meet this need.

The LOOK bill and Seal of Biliteracy Bill were both referred out favorably by the Mass Legislature's Joint Committee on Education, and are moving ahead in the legislative process. 

MA Joint Committee on Education Unanimously Votes Out ELL Bill

An Act for Language Opportunity for Our Kids includes key reforms in English language education and dual language learning.