The value of an industry-recognized credential
Industry-recognized credentials can include certifications, licenses, and micro-credentials and are a quick way to signal to prospective employers that you have certified skills that are valuable in the workplace. Students in high school seek these credentials for many reasons: to gain full-time employment after graduation, to gain part-time employment while pursuing post-secondary education, or as a boost to their job or university application. Typically, the province of learners in career technical education (CTE), industry credentials encompass a variety of qualifications, spanning from cosmetology licenses to computer programming certifications and automotive service credentials. For example, students seeking employment in the food service industry might require credentials in food safety, whereas future firefighters may pursue certification in essential skills such as fire suppression and hazardous materials handling.
Industry-recognized credentials are counted by school districts and states, and funding may be provided for programming and certification examinations. Public media often celebrates districts that graduate large numbers of skilled workers who can support the economy and fuel growth.
The Seal of Biliteracy as a credential
In 2024, the world language community celebrated a milestone: all 50 states and the District of Columbia now offer a Seal of Biliteracy, recognizing students’ language skills in English and at least one other language. The Seal is an honor and distinction for high school graduates, acknowledging language as an asset. This is powerful for students who speak a language other than English at home as well as for those who are learning a language in school.
Increasingly, workplace readiness has become important to students, schools, employers, and communities. Even though business leaders have identified language proficiency and cultural competence as essential to their success and continued growth, the leap from adoption of the Seal to recognition as an industry credential has been lacking. In the Making Languages Our Business report, the need for language skills is evident:
“Making Languages Our Business” (ACTFL, 2019).
While ACTFL scores are recognized in academic, government, and commercial sectors, the Seal is not uniformly recognized in government and commercial spaces. Without the legitimacy of an industry-recognized credential, recognition of the Seal beyond language education is unlikely. Information on the number of Seals earned is not consistently collected, and funding for language assessments used to qualify for the Seal may be challenging to obtain. An industry credential can help provide the legitimacy needed to improve funding and student access to the Seal.
Grass roots advocacy
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, where I reside, language educators wondered how to connect the power of CTE certifications to the Biliteracy Seal so that it would be recognized, counted, and funded. Luckily, we have an active advocate in the state organization, the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA). Founded in 1911 and the oldest state body of professional language educators in the nation, FLAVA has a dedicated Advocacy Chair who maintains contact with legislators in the state capital, Richmond, and the US capital, in nearby Washington, DC. Dual Language Immersion educators have their own organization, Virginia Dual Language Educators Network (VADLEN), that brings together administrators, dual language immersion elementary school teachers, parents, and world language teachers to focus on this growing sector of language acquisition. And Virginia is one of only two states that has a dedicated world language supervisors association, the Virginia Organization of World Language Supervisors (VOWLS); the other is the Texas Association for Language Supervision (Texas TALS).
During my tenure as a two-term President of VOWLS, I was active in advocacy for the adoption of the Virginia Diploma Seal of Biliteracy in 2015 and championed a series of K-20 Articulation Panels at the annual FLAVA conference to connect K-12 and post-secondary educators. This collaboration coalesced into Global Virginia, which has developed into a powerhouse of a grass roots advocacy organization. Comprised of stakeholders from world language and career technical education at the K-12 and post-secondary levels, industry leaders, and politicians, Global Virginia is focused on developing global competency for all Virginia citizens.
Powered by a small group of committed individuals who have met weekly since its inception, Global Virginia has become a recognized affiliate of FLAVA and partner in the Joint National Committee for Languages – National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS). As a contributing member of FLAVA, VOWLS, VADLEN, and Global Virginia, I personally have had an active role in advocating for world language support and in amplifying our message that languages are essential for global career readiness, our nation’s security, industry, and trade.
Virginia leads the way
Virginia may be unique in having such a web of interconnected and supportive organizations, but it can also serve as a beacon to other states. Last year, then President of VOWLS, Dr. Jeremy Aldrich of Harrisonburg City Public Schools, reached out to legislators to support an initiative to recognize the Seal of Biliteracy as an industry-recognized credential. History was made as VOWLS, FLAVA, VADLEN, and Global Virginia worked in concert with legislators on both sides of the aisle to introduce House Bill 2360 during this 2025 legislative session. Introduced by Republican Tony O. Wilt, a Delegate representing the City of Harrisonburg, and co-sponsored by Democrat Shelly A Simonds representing the City of Newport News, House Bil 2360 sought to designate the Virginia High School Seal of Biliteracy as a high-demand industry workforce credential for the purpose of satisfying graduation requirements and determining and calculating high school student readiness in its school accountability system.
House Bill 2360 passed unanimously in both chambers but was returned by the governor with a recommendation to strike the language that the Seal be used for “determining and calculating high school student readiness in its school accountability system.” The amended version of the bill was accepted by the General Assembly and signed on April 2, 2025, by the governor, and will become law on July 1, 2025. Most importantly, what was retained in the final version was the crucial language designating the Seal as a high-demand industry workforce credential: “The Board…shall consider such seal to be a high-demand industry workforce credential for the purpose of satisfying graduation requirements.”
Qualifying for the Seal of Biliteracy
This bill, soon to be law, amends the Code of Virginia related to instructional programs supporting the Standards of Learning and other educational objectives. § 22.1-253.13:1. It gives parity to the Seal of Biliteracy in the realm of credentialing in the secondary school context. The italicized section below reflects the proposed modification:
The career and technical education credential, when required, could include the successful completion of an industry certification, a state licensure examination, a national occupational competency assessment, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or the Virginia workplace readiness skills assessment, or, in the case of the diploma seal of biliteracy, any examination set forth in subdivision E 4.
(High School diploma seal of biliteracy; designation as “high-demand” industry workforce credential, H.B. 2360, 2025).
This modification raises the stature of language education and proficiency, however acquired, and places it squarely in the company of math, English language arts, science, and career technical education. However, it will not alter in any way the current criteria for awarding the Virginia seal of biliteracy, which calls out the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) by name; see below.
- The Board shall establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal of biliteracy to any student who demonstrates proficiency in English and at least one other language for the Board-approved diplomas. The Board shall consider criteria including the student’s (i) score on a College Board Advanced Placement foreign language examination, (ii) score on an SAT II Subject Test in a foreign language, (iii) proficiency level on an ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) measure or another nationally or internationally recognized language proficiency test, or (iv) cumulative grade point average in a sequence of foreign language courses approved by the Board.
(§ 22.1-253.13:1. Standard 1. Instructional programs supporting the Standards of Learning and other educational objectives., subsection E4)
Clearly, the Commonwealth of Virginia has explicitly recognized the AAPPL as one of the prime language tests for providing evidence of performance toward proficiency for the Virginia diploma seal of biliteracy. Most importantly, of all the assessments named, it is only the AAPPL which aligns with the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2024.
Be the next state
Take a page from Virginia’s book and harness the power of your state’s stakeholders. Reach out to your state’s Department of Education – not just the world language specialist, if you have one, but also to those responsible for CTE, ESL/ENL/Multilingual Learners, and higher education. For contact information of your state world language supervisor, consult the interactive map provided by NCSSFL (the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages): https://www.ncssfl.org/
Start small. You might contact your local Chamber of Commerce, Asian Chamber of Commerce, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Connect with JNCL-NCLIS and check out the ACTFL Advocacy webpage to gain resources and target legislators. Attend JNCL-NCLIS Advocacy Days, which occur biannually. Celebrate small wins. And dream big!
