June 4, 2018 — Four Massachusetts nonprofits and two nonprofit leaders today were cited as role models for the sector when they were named Nonprofit Excellence Award winners at a State House event in connection with Nonprofit Awareness Day, a 10-year-old statewide celebration of the contributions of Massachusetts nonprofits.
See instructions for how to submit public comment on the regulations.
Resources for parents in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to give public comment on the LOOK Act, from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Boston, MA (May 3, 2018) The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN) is pleased to announce that the Language Opportunity Coalition has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 Nonprofit Excellence Award in Advocacy. The Excellence Awards will be presented at MNN’s annual celebration of Nonprofit Awareness Day: A Celebration of Nonprofit Excellence presented by Citizens Bank, a statewide holiday that highlights the work of the nonprofit sector and raises awareness of causes throughout Massachusetts presented by Citizens Bank, at the Massachusetts State House on Monday, June 4. Continue reading
The Language Opportunity Coalition strongly objects to the proposed regulation 603 CMR 31.07 that establishes the award criteria for the State Seal of Biliteracy. We ask the Board of Education not to approve the regulation in the current form.
The proposed award criteria do not follow national guidelines for proficiency levels for the Seal of Biliteracy.The award criteria defined for the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project (2014-18) were designed to be a motivational and inclusive award that recognizes the language attainment of as many students as possible. Our goal in supporting establishment of the Seal of Biliteracy is to 1) support and reward long-term and sustained language study of English, native languages, and world languages, and 2) recognize and reward the linguistic assets that multilingual students bring to our schools. The proposed regulations will exclude many students, especially students whose native language is not English.
The LOOK Act requires that the Department consider national standards and the local work of the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project in developing criteria for the award. Massachusetts is in a unique position because we can learn both from the local three-year Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project and from emerging research on implementation of the Seal of Biliteracy nationally. We ask that the Department consult with the Language Opportunity Coalition and members of the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project to revise the regulations to ensure equity and opportunity for all students pursuing language study.
Comment is open on the proposed regulations until May 18. See these links to give public comment.
The public comment period is open on the proposed regulations for the LOOK Act. The proposed changes include the proposal requirement for establishing an alternative EL program, EL Parent Advisory Councils, criteria for the Seal of Biliteracy, draft requirements for the Bilingual Education Endorsement, and SEI Endorsement for Vocational Technical teachers and changes to voc-tech licensure requirements. It is important that educators of English learners provide input. This webinar will give an overview of the new regulations and provide instructions on how to comment.
Presented by the Language Opportunity Coalition and MTA
WEBINAR
LOOK Act Regulations – Public Comment 101: How to provide input on proposed regulations
Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 4:00 PM
View/print the the webinar slides (pdf)
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Note: Public comments are public documents. All submitted comments can be, and are often, released to the public. Avoid using professional title, organization or affiliation
unless you have approval.
Curious about the history and origins of the Seal of Biliteracy? This podcast describes the development of the Seal of Biliteracy in California and how the initiative spread across the country (including Massachusetts). Continue reading
This webinar gives an introduction of the national Seal of Biliteracy movement and an overview of the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project, including the updated resources and experience gained from the third year of the pilot. (Recorded Oct 10, 2017) Continue reading
The revised Seal of Biliteracy Toolkit is now available for download!
The toolkit was revised and updated with input from schools that participated in the Seal of Biliteracy Pilot Project during the 2016-17 school year. The revised toolkit includes new resources for use in implementing the Seal of Biliteracy:
Link to download: Seal of Biliteracy Toolkit – Sep 2017 Revision (no longer online — see the updated Toolkit at www.SealofBiliteracyMA.org)
Language Opportunity 
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