The agreement took three years to negotiate and was signed at the district's headquarters (LAUSD), with the coordination of the Consulate General of Portugal in San Francisco and the Coordination of Portuguese Language Education in the USA (CEPE-USA).

"This new agreement lays the foundation for strengthened cooperation between the two institutions over the next five years, through the end of the 2028/2029 school year," the consulate said in a written statement.

This is the first time that the LAUSD school district—the second-largest in the United States and the largest in California—has established such an agreement with a government agency from a third state.

The memorandum "aims to expand and strengthen the promotion of the Portuguese language and culture in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, reinforcing the presence of Portuguese as a global language in LAUSD's educational offerings," the statement reads.

Two Portuguese language programs have been operating since 2023, one at STEM Magnet Academy and the other at Daniel Pearl High School, both located in the San Fernando Valley, north of Hollywood.

The memorandum aims to increase this type of offering in the district's schools, which serve more than half a million students.

"This new MOU symbolizes not only the consolidation of a strategic partnership between Portugal and one of the most important educational institutions in the United States, but also the mutual commitment to promoting multilingualism and student access to a global and inclusive education," the consulate stated.

The signing "also represents significant progress in the certification of Portuguese teachers in California," a state with the largest population of people of Portuguese origin in the US, but where language teaching has faced obstacles.

Camões – Institute of Cooperation and Language, I.P., will now work to raise awareness of the cooperation agreement with students, teachers, and the Portuguese-American community in California.