Majority Caucus Whip Iris Y. Martinez (D-Chicago) has advanced legislation that will help students meet foreign language requirements when they apply for college. Under Martinez’s plan, state universities and community colleges would have to accept the State Seal of Biliteracy as the equivalent of two years of foreign language learning taken during high school. The State Seal of Biliteracy, which Martinez established through a law she sponsored, is awarded to high school students demonstrating proficiency in English and at least one more other language.

House Bill 4330 provides that the rules the Illinois State Board of Education establishes for the program must ensure that a student meets two years of foreign language requirements for college admissions purposes. It’s optional for schools to offer a State Seal of Biliteracy to students. For the 2015-2016 school year, 54 Illinois schools were approved for the State Seal of Biliteracy. Martinez’s bill also requires state universities and community colleges to establish criteria to translate a State Seal of Biliteracy into course credit. The senator’s proposal passed out of the Senate’s Education Committee this week and now must be approved by the Illinois Senate.