NCSBEE Voice: Adopting a Seal of Biliteracy: A State Perspective

According to sealofbiliteracy.org, all states but one have adopted a seal of biliteracy for inclusion on high school diplomas. When the Montana Board of Public Education adopted its seal in 2021, we were one of the last states to take the leap. There was much to consider: Should the Montana legislature lead the effort? Should we wait until federal funding was allocated? How can the Montana Board of Public Education ever support such a huge undertaking? Yet Montana has a large Native American and rural population of students who do not always have access to language programs. At the end of the day, the board decided that adopting the seal of biliteracy was too important to wait for all the stars to align.