Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Copyright Status, No Creative Commons License

All Rights Reserved

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities

Department

Education

School

School of Education and Human Services

Abstract

The New York State Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) is an award recognizing high school graduates who demonstrate proficiency in English and at least one additional world language. Despite New York State's early adoption of the SoBL in 2012 and Long Island's regional leadership in awarding the seal, research suggests the credential disproportionately benefits White, English- dominant students rather than the multilingual learners it was originally meant to serve. Through semi-structured interviews with eight SoBL coordinators across fiscally and demographically diverse districts on Long Island, my study investigated how they described the program's value, the challenges and successes in implementation, and the recommendations for building more equitable and sustainable programs. I employed three complementary theoretical frameworks to situate the study and analyze the results: Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth Model; the New York State Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CRSE) framework alongside the state's 2025 Portrait of a Graduate initiative; and Labaree's (1997) framework on the competing private and collective goals of American education. Together, these frameworks illuminated how SoBL coordinators navigated tensions between recognizing linguistic diversity as cultural wealth and positioning bilingualism as a marketable credential. Three interconnected findings emerged. First, the SoBL functions as an equity paradox despite its stated mission. Second, structural and institutional factors were the primary determinants of equitable access to the seal. Third, SoBL programs across Long Island operate on what I termed a "labor-of-love" sustainability model due to its precarious dependence on individual coordinator’s dedication. Implications for policy and practice include recommendations for increasing the number of multilingual learners earning the seal, dedicated coordinator support, state-level assessment reform, and meaningful alignment with New York State's CRSE framework.

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