Application Information Located at the Bottom of This Page
The Seal of Biliteracy is awarded upon graduation to students who demonstrate a high proficiency in:
Our State's two official languages of Hawaiian and English; or
Either of our State's two official languages and at least one additional language.
Please note that the Seal of Biliteracy status will be reflected in the assessments section (page 2) of your transcript in June 2026.
Must be a graduating senior enrolled in a Hawai`i public or public charter school.
Must demonstrate proficiency in English by one of the following:
a minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA upon graduation in English Language Arts courses required for a high school graduation diploma
a "3" or above in the Smarter Balanced English Language Arts/Literacy assessment completed in grade 11
a score of "3" or above on the AP English Language and Composition exam
a composite score of at least 480 on the SAT Reading/Writing exam
a composite score of at least 18 on the ACT English exam
an overall score of at least 4.5 on the most recent ACCESS or ELLs exam
Must demonstrate world language proficiency by attaining the requisite score for one or more of the following world language requirements:
AP Language exam: a score of "3" or above.
American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI); a score of 2 or above.
Hawai`i State Department of Education online language assessment (administered at McKinley): A score of "5" or above (Avant STAMP 4S, 3S, WorldSpeak, or Super LCTL) or a minimum score of Intermediate Mid (ACTFL OPI and WPT). Available languages include Abkhazian, Afaan Oromo, Albanian, American Sign Language, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Bambara/Bamanakan, Bangla, Bengali, Bicol, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cabo Verdean, Cantonese, Catalan, Cebuano, Chaldean, Cham, Chamorro, Chin (Hakha), Chuukese, Croation, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dinka, Dutch, Dyula, Estonian, Ewe, Fiji Hindi, Fijian, French, Fulani, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian-Creole, Hausa, Hawaiian, Herero, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Ilokano, Ilonggo/Hiligaynon, Indonesian, Italian, Jamaican/Patwah, Japanese, Jingpho (Kachin), K'iche', Kankanaey, Kannada, Kapampangan/Pampango, Karen, Khmer, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda (Kinyamulenge), Kirundi, Korean, Kosraean, Krio, Kunama, Lao, Latin, Lingala, Lisan-ud-Duwat, Lithuanian, Luganda, Malay, Malayalam, Mandarin (simplified and traditional), Mandinka, Maori, Marathi, Marshallese, Mixtec, Mongolian, Mortlockese, Nepali, Norwegian-Bokmal, Norwegian-Nynorsk, Nuer, Nyanja (Chichewa), Odia (Oriya), Palauan, Pangasinan, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Pohnpeian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Punjabi, Q'anjob'al, Quecha, Romanian, Russian, Saho, Samoan, Sanskrit, Shona, Sinhala, siSwati, Somali Maay Maay, Somali Maxaa, Soninke, Spanish, Swahili, Swazi (siSwati), Swedish, Sylheti, Tagalog, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Tigrinya, Tok Pisin, Tongan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Ulithian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Visayan, Waray-Waray, Wolof, Yapese, Yoruba, Yup'ik, Zigula, and Zomi.
Submit the online application at bit.ly/HISoBL2026Apply
Complete a separate signature form and a student publication/audio/video release form via Adobe Sign at bit.ly/HISoBL26SignSPAV. Both applicant and the parent/guardian will need to complete this.
You may need to refer to the Seal of Biliteracy Available Language and Assessments List to complete the application.
You may see Ms. Panquites in A127 or contact her via email at lisa.panquites@k12.hi.us for questions.