Relating to establishing the Texas Seal of Biliteracy for public high school students.
HB 1579 establishes the Texas State Seal of Bilingualism and Biliteracy for public high school students who demonstrate advanced proficiency in both English and another language. The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to set rigorous, exam-free standards (like project-based assessments) for earning the seal, which schools must then affix to diplomas and note on transcripts. It directly affects public high school students who meet the proficiency requirements, with implementation beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. The seal aims to formally recognize biliteracy skills for employers and colleges without creating new standardized tests.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 12, 2025
Last action May 14, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Engrossed
·
3 edits
·
May 6, 2025
MINOR
The bill was updated from 'Bilingualism and Biliteracy' to 'Biliteracy' in the title and section heading, removing the emphasis on bilingualism. A note about digital content accessibility (WCAG 2.1) was added at the top, likely for administrative purposes rather than substantive policy. The core legislative text regarding the Texas Seal of Biliteracy remains substantively unchanged, maintaining the same requirements for high school students to earn the seal through proficiency in English and another language.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on establishing the Texas Seal of Biliteracy for public high school graduates, with no changes to eligibility criteria, requirements, or implementation dates.
DEFINITION
The title and section heading were changed from 'Texas State Seal of Bilingualism and Biliteracy' to 'Texas Seal of Biliteracy', removing the word 'Bilingualism'.
TECHNICAL
A note about digital content accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1) was added to the document header, likely for administrative or formatting purposes.
The original bill header format was replaced with a cleaner version, removing page numbers and some formatting artifacts.
Floor votes · House May 6, 2025
How they voted
103–36
Passed · 7 other
Total votes 146
May 6, 2025
D
Democratic59
98% Yea
R
Republican87
51% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
27
Key actions
9
Committee
9
Amendments
2
May 14, 2025
Committee
Referred to Education K-16
upper
May 14, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 7, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Recalled from subcommittee
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in subcommittee
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Committee
Referred to s/c on Academic & Career-Oriented Education by chair
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Committee
Referred to Public Education
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
4 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Bobby Guerra
DDemocratic
P
Harold Dutton
DDemocratic
P
James Talarico
DDemocratic
P
Mihaela Pleșa
DDemocratic
Co
Jo Jones
DDemocratic
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