Educational Services

The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by Gilroy Unified School District.  California Assembly Bill 815 established the State Seal of Biliteracy to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, writing in one or more languages in addition to English.   The State Seal of Biliteracy is awarded by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Goals:  In  awarding  the  Seal  of  Biliteracy  to  graduating seniors who met the requirements, Gilroy Unified School District seeks to:   * Encourage students to develop and maintain biliteracy and multilingual skills; * Prepare students to enter into the global era and be able to communicate across national borders and languages; * Promote the development of language and cultural appreciation and cross-cultural understanding; * Provide employers with a method of identifying people with language and biliteracy skills.

Eligibility: The Seal will be awarded to graduating seniors from Gilroy Unified School District who have mastered academic English and any other language.  Students wishing to receive the Seal of Biliteracy must submit an application form to their home district and meet the following requirements.   1) Complete all high school graduation requirements. 2) An overall 2.0 grade point average in all English Language Arts courses.   3) Demonstrate proficiency in English assessment TBD 4) Demonstrate proficiency in one or more languages other than English (includes American Sign Language) through one of the four options.

How to Apply: If you meet the requirements, or think you will when the AP scores are released, pick up a State Seal of Biliteracy application from your high school counselor/Academic Coordinator or download here..

Language Proficiency Options:

A.   Pass a foreign language Advanced Placement examination with a score of 3 or higher or an International Baccalaureate examination with a score of 4 or higher. Or

B.  Complete a four-year high school course of study in a foreign language and attain an overall grade point average of 3.0 or above in that course of study. Or

C.   Pass  the  SAT  II  foreign language examination with  a score of 600 or higher. Or

D.  Pass an approved language exam from an authorized educational or governmental agency.

Achieve Early Advanced Proficiency level on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), which may be administered an additional time, as necessary.

More Information about the Biliteracy Program