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General

General

    • The Michigan Seal of Biliteracy has been created to recognize high school graduates who exhibit language proficiency in English and at least one additional world language.
    • The Seal may be awarded to any student receiving a high school diploma, a high school certificate of completion or a high school equivalency certificate AND who has demonstrated Intermediate High proficiency on acceptable world language assessments and met the English Language Arts requirements for graduation.
    • The Seal was created to encourage students to learn world languages and/or maintain their native and heritage languages.
    • The Seal provides employers with a way to identify individuals with strong language and biliteracy skills.
    • The Seal serves as an additional tool for colleges and universities to recognize applicants’ language abilities for admission and placement. 
    • The Michigan Seal of Biliteracy was established January 9, 2018, with State Board of Education’s support. 
    • All 50 states and Washington DC have a state Seal of Biliteracy. 
    • The MI-SoBL is awarded to high school graduates or the equivalent. The MI-SoBL may be awarded to any student receiving a Michigan high school diploma, a high school certificate of completion, or a high school equivalency certificate.
    • ENGLISH: All recipients of the MI-SoBL must demonstrate proficiency in English through the successful completion of the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) graduation requirements as well as individual district requirements.
    • WORLD LANGUAGES: All recipients of the MI-SoBL must also demonstrate at least intermediate-high proficiency in ANY world language. Proficiency levels are defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Student proficiency must be verified through performance on an approved commercial language assessment or through the Alternative Process for Assessment. See the MI-SoBL Approved Commercial Language Assessments document.
    • All recipients of the MI-SoBL must demonstrate proficiency in English through the successful completion of the MMC graduation requirements as well as individual district requirements.
    • All relevant domains of a language must be assessed.
      NOTE: Most languages consist of four domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
      EXCEPTION: A domain that does not exist in a particular language (the speaking domain in Latin or the writing domain in Sylheti, for example) does not need to be assessed.
    • A student must demonstrate intermediate-high proficiency on approved world language assessments in all domains that pertain to the language. See the list of Mi-SOBL Approved Commercial Language Assessments. 
    • Intermediate High or equivalent proficiency is the minimum level required and can be demonstrated through an approved commercial language assessment, transcripts from other countries, and other formal documentation. See the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2024 available at actfl.org.  
    • The MI-SoBL will be awarded in the form of an official letter, certificate, and a foil seal.
    • Once the application has been submitted and approved, the contact listed in the application receives an email message containing the attachments for both the letter and certificate.
    • Upon approval of the application, the foil seal is mailed out by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to the address associated with the contact’s account (usually the district’s address).
    • In the event that an email message with certificate attachments is not received, approved certificates can be retrieved from the portal in the applicant’s account.
    • Recognition of the MI-SoBL award should be placed on the diploma or transcript. The official language to add to the transcript is, “Michigan Biliteracy Seal Awardee – Name of world language/English”, such as Michigan Seal of Biliteracy Awardee - Spanish/English.
    • All pertinent domains of a language must be assessed.
      NOTE: Most languages consist of four domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
      EXCEPTION: A domain that does not exist in a particular language (the speaking domain in Latin or the writing domain in Silhet, for example), does not need to be assessed.