Seal of Biliteracy

The New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB) was established to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages, in addition to English. It takes the form of a special seal that is affixed to the student’s diploma. The honor is also noted on the student’s official transcript.

The intent of the New York State Seal of Biliteracy is to:

affirm the value of diversity in a multilingual society.
encourage the study of languages.
identify high school graduates with language and biliteracy skills for employers.
provide universities with additional information about applicants seeking admission.
prepare students with twenty-first century skills.
recognize the value of world and home language instruction in schools.

All students wishing to earn the Seal of Biliteracy must earn a NYS Regents diploma and demonstrate proficiency in both English and a World Language by earning points in various ways described below. In almost all cases, students will complete a Culminating Project in either English or a World Language.

Criteria for Demonstrating Proficiency in English (3 points required)

NYS ELA CC Regents Exam – minimum 80% (1 point)
For ENL Students – score above 75% on two Regents, without translation (1 point)
For ENL Students – score 290 or higher on the NYSESLAT (1 point)
ELA 11 & ELA 12 Courses – class average of 85% or above (1 point)
AP Language or Literature – 3 or higher (1 point)
Culminating Project in English (2 points)

Criteria for Demonstrating Proficiency in a World Language (3 points required)

Checkpoint C-level World Language Course (Level 4/MVCC or Level 5/MVCC) – class average of 85% or above (1 point)
Checkpoint C World Language Assessment – minimum score varies (1 point)
Culminating Project in the Target Language (2 points)

For more information, contact the district's NYSSB co-coordinators:

Rickey Nicholas-Hahn
Proctor World Languages Department Chair
Co-Coordinator – UCSD NYSSB
rnicholas-hahn@uticaschools.org

Erin Slegaitis-Smith
Proctor ENL Department Chair
Co-Coordinator – UCSD NYSSB
eslegaitis@uticaschools.org