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The California Seal of Biliteracy is a gold seal placed on a high school diploma to recognize students who have attained a high level of proficiency in English and at least one other language. California created the very first Seal of Biliteracy in 2011, with the first seals awarded in 2012, and the model has since spread to all 50 states. This guide covers the requirements, the accepted assessments, the rules for English Learners, and how students earn it.
Table of contents
What the California Seal of Biliteracy Is
Quick answer: the California State Seal of Biliteracy is conferred by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction on graduating seniors who demonstrate proficiency in English and in one or more other languages; participating districts verify eligibility and affix the insignia. It appears as a gold seal on the diploma and a notation on the transcript. California was the first state to offer it, under a 2011 law with the first seals awarded in 2012, and Assembly Bill 370 (effective January 2024) broadened the ways students can show English proficiency.
California Seal of Biliteracy by the Numbers
California created the seal and still awards more of them than any other state, and the program is setting records.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Seals awarded in 2025-2026 | 79,397, the most ever in a single year |
| First seals awarded | Spring 2012, over 10,000 graduates |
| Data published by CDE | Annual counts by language and county |
Volume is not the whole story: advocates note the remaining gap is participation, since eligible students in non-participating schools simply never receive the award. For a district, joining costs little and the data suggests families respond.
California Seal of Biliteracy Requirements
A student must satisfy an English proficiency requirement and a world-language proficiency requirement.
| Area | How to meet it (any one option) |
|---|---|
| English proficiency | Complete the English graduation requirements with a 3.0+ GPA in those courses; OR meet the standard on the grade 11 CAASPP ELA; OR score 3+ on an English AP exam; OR 4+ on an English IB exam; OR 480+ on the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section. |
| Other-language proficiency | Score 3+ on a world-language AP exam; OR 4+ on a world-language IB exam; OR Intermediate Mid or higher on both the ACTFL OPI and WPT; OR complete a four-year high school course of study in the language with a 3.0+ GPA and oral proficiency comparable to a passing AP or IB score; OR pass a district exam where no AP or commercial test exists. |
Extra Rule for English Learners
Students classified as English Learners must also attain an oral language composite score of level 4 on the ELPAC. This ensures the seal reflects strong oral proficiency in English as well as the partner language.
How to Earn It in California
- Choose your path to English proficiency (GPA, CAASPP, AP, IB, or SAT) and to world-language proficiency (AP, IB, the ACTFL OPI and WPT, or the four-year course).
- English Learners confirm an ELPAC oral composite of level 4.
- Your district verifies the criteria and applies the gold seal to your diploma at graduation.
Heritage and dual-language students often meet the world-language bar through AP or IB exams; students in traditional world-language sequences typically use the four-year course pathway.
Benefits in California
The seal strengthens college applications, signals bilingual skills to employers, and formally values the home languages of California’s large multilingual population. Many California districts also offer pathway awards that lead up to the seal.
Choosing Your California Pathway
California’s design is deliberately flexible: because there are multiple ways to satisfy each requirement, the efficient move is to match the pathway to the student’s situation rather than defaulting to coursework alone. The table below maps common profiles to the options in state rule.
| Student profile | Efficient California pathway |
|---|---|
| Heritage or dual-language student | Often meets the world-language requirement through a 3+ on a world-language AP exam or a 4+ on the IB exam, verifying existing proficiency without a separate four-year sequence. |
| Traditional world-language learner | Typically uses the four-year high school course of study in the language with a 3.0+ GPA and comparable oral proficiency, the standard coursework route. |
| English Learner | Meets the standard criteria and must also reach an oral language composite of level 4 on the ELPAC, so oral English practice should be planned early. |
Under Assembly Bill 370, effective January 2024, California also broadened how students can show English proficiency, adding options such as a qualifying SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score alongside the CAASPP, GPA, AP, and IB routes. Confirming which options a district applies helps students pick the least burdensome valid path.
Planning Ahead for the ELPAC Oral Requirement
One requirement specific to English Learners is the ELPAC oral composite of level 4, which applies only to students still classified as English Learners. Because it tests spoken English specifically, a student who reads and writes English well can still fall short if oral proficiency has not been developed to the same level. The practical response is to treat the oral composite as a distinct target from the coursework: identify it in grade 9 or 10, track ELPAC oral results, and build structured speaking practice in English across the high school years rather than assuming written coursework will carry it. For English Learners, this composite is a separate requirement to track from grade 9, on top of the English criterion every student must meet.
A Practical Calendar for California Students
Timing matters more than most families realize, because some evidence can only be produced in specific windows.
- Grades 9-10: confirm with the counselor that the school participates and which pathway fits (AP, IB, assessment, or coursework). English Learners should track ELPAC progress from the start.
- Grade 11: take AP or IB language exams if that is the pathway; otherwise plan the approved assessment for late junior or early senior year, leaving room for a retake.
- Grade 12: English Learners confirm an ELPAC Oral Language composite of level 4, which can come from any ELPAC taken from TK through grade 12. Districts verify GPA and English evidence, then submit counts to the CDE and order the insignia.
Districts new to the program should also know about the CDE’s Biliteracy Pathway Recognitions, awards for younger students (preschool through grade 8) that keep families engaged years before the diploma seal is in reach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the California Seal of Biliteracy requirements?
English proficiency (via GPA, CAASPP, AP, IB, or SAT) and other-language proficiency (via AP 3+, IB 4+, Intermediate Mid on both the ACTFL OPI and WPT, or a four-year course with a 3.0 GPA and comparable oral proficiency). English Learners must also reach ELPAC oral composite level 4.
Was California the first state to offer the seal?
Yes. California created the first Seal of Biliteracy in 2011, with the first seals awarded in 2012, and every other state has since adopted a version of it.
What do English Learners need?
In addition to the standard criteria, an oral language composite score of level 4 on the ELPAC.
Who awards it?
The State Superintendent of Public Instruction confers it; participating districts verify eligibility and affix the gold seal to the diploma or transcript.
What did Assembly Bill 370 change?
Effective January 2024, AB 370 broadened the ways students can demonstrate English proficiency for the seal, including options such as a qualifying SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score, alongside the existing GPA, CAASPP, AP, and IB routes.
Does every student need the ELPAC oral composite?
No. The ELPAC oral composite of level 4 applies only to students still classified as English Learners. Students who are not classified as English Learners meet the standard English and world-language criteria without it.
How do heritage and dual-language students earn it?
They often satisfy the world-language requirement most efficiently through a 3 or higher on a world-language AP exam or a 4 or higher on the IB exam, which verifies existing proficiency without a separate four-year course sequence. If they are still classified as English Learners, they also need the ELPAC oral composite of level 4.
Does the California seal grant college credit?
California does not mandate statewide college credit for the seal; credit or placement is decided by each institution.
How many students earn the California Seal of Biliteracy each year?
California awarded 79,397 seals in the 2025-2026 school year, a record and the most of any state.
What are the Biliteracy Pathway Recognitions?
They are California’s awards for students in preschool through grade 8 who are developing biliteracy, created so recognition does not wait until the diploma. They do not replace the State Seal but mark progress toward it, and districts use them to keep families engaged in language programs across the grades.
Related Resources
- Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy
- Michigan Seal of Biliteracy
- What Is the Seal of Biliteracy?
- Seal of Biliteracy Requirements
- Seal of Biliteracy by State
- ELPAC Explained
Conclusion
The California Seal of Biliteracy started a national movement and remains flexible by design: students can prove English and world-language proficiency through coursework or exams, with an added ELPAC step for English Learners. For the state’s millions of bilingual students, it turns an everyday strength into a credential, and reaching it comes down to steady speaking and listening practice through high school.
Sources: California Department of Education, State Seal of Biliteracy; CDE State Seal of Biliteracy FAQs; SealofBiliteracy.org.
The Oral Composite Step for English Learners
California adds a step most states do not: an English Learner must hit an ELPAC oral composite of level 4, on top of proving the partner language. It is a fitting requirement in the state that invented the seal, and the piece it tests, spoken English, is the one students get the fewest chances to rehearse in a full classroom.
The shortfall is structural, not motivational. An oral composite rises through frequent, responsive conversation, and a single teacher juggling a large EL roster cannot give each student enough of that talk, in English or the partner language, within the school day.
Practice can also come from outside the teacher’s limited minutes. Telo AI is one example, offering adaptive conversation and feedback through separate English, Spanish, and French apps, supporting spoken English and the partner language the seal certifies. For English Learners, teachers can choose the California ELD Standards and their proficiency level descriptors in its dashboard.
See how bilingual students build spoken proficiency on both sides of the seal: https://mytelo.ai/how-telo-works/
When students get enough real conversation, the oral composite is one less obstacle for an otherwise qualified candidate. In the state that started the movement, the seal still means most when the spoken proficiency behind it is the genuine article.
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