The DoWEA Seal of Biliteracy Award: Open for SY26-27
The Department of War Education Activity proudly announces the opening of the Seal of Biliteracy Award program for the 2026–2027 school year, building on the success of the 2025–2026 school year, where 509 graduating students worldwide were identified as satisfying the Seal of Biliteracy criteria.
This initiative celebrates language biliteracy while directly supporting national security priorities by developing future service members fluent in languages critical to United States mission interests. High school seniors are identified for the award prior to graduation, receiving an official notation on their academic transcripts for every language in which they fulfill the criteria, and individual schools may choose to provide additional physical awards. Transfer students entering a DoWEA high school can also achieve this honor by submitting a DoWEA Seal of Biliteracy Student Transfer Form alongside official assessment score evidence that validates their high proficiency in both English and their second language.
To qualify for this prestigious honor, high school seniors must demonstrate high-level proficiency in both English and a second language, which includes options like American Sign Language, Arabic, Mandarin, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, and Turkish. Candidates satisfy the English requirement by earning qualifying scores on a DoWEA English language proficiency assessment, such as the SAT or an Advanced Placement English exam, including Advanced Placement English 10 Seminar.
Simultaneously, students must prove proficiency in their chosen world language by achieving qualifying scores on a valid, standards-based world language assessment or a DoWEA administered world language Advanced Placement exam.
The award provides profound academic and career advantages, mirroring the Seal of Biliteracy Award programs adopted across all fifty states and the District of Columbia that have opened limitless opportunities for recipients. DoWEA encourages students to look beyond minimum graduation requirements and proactively expand their language studies.
According to Mario Nuñez, DoWEA’s Host Nation and World Languages Instructional Systems Specialist, “Research consistently demonstrates that biliterate students outperform monolingual peers in problem-solving, attention, and working memory, which strongly correlates to higher achievement in reading comprehension and mathematics.”
Many colleges and universities award admissions preferences or waive undergraduate language requirements for Seal of Biliteracy Award recipients, translating to significant financial savings for military families. Conversely, employers worldwide highly prize fluent, multilingual communication skills.
For more information or to begin planning, families and staff should contact their local high school DoWEA Point of Contact, reach out to their DoWEA Regional World Languages Instructional Systems Specialist, or visit the official portal at https://www.dodea.edu/sobl.
