FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAVE CREEK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Middle and High School Students Speak to the AZ Senate Education Committee in Three Languages

Senate Bill 1239, called the AZ Seal of Biliteracy, is working its way through the legislature and could be a way for Arizona to formally recognize students with exemplary skills in English and another language. On February 4, several trilingual students from Cave Creek Unified School District testified in front of the Senate Education Committee, sharing their stories about how learning multiple languages in school will help leverage their future careers out in the global workforce. Now in middle and high school, most of the testifying students started learning their 2nd language in First Grade and have parents that speak only English. SB1239 passed with a 7-0-0 vote and will continue its bipartisan journey into the House. Arizona would be the 15th state in the U.S. to pass legislation supporting a state Seal of Biliteracy (map: http://sealofbiliteracy.org).

Questions: Contact Cristina Ladas, World Language Programs Coordinator at 480-518- 4289