Illinois To Require Schools To Teach Asian American History, First State To Pass Bill

Illinois lawmakers have successfully passed the bill to require all state public schools to teach a unit of Asian American History beginning the 2022-2023 school year. 

The bill, signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on July 9, makes Illinois the first state to mandate Asian American History classes in elementary and high school amid the rise of anti-Asian sentiments in the U.S. due to the pandemic. 

House Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, one of the sponsors of the bill, said that she did not know about the struggles and discrimination faced by her Chinese grandparents until she earned her law degree in the U.S. She described her family's history as the "quintessential American immigrant story," which only glazed on the hardships faced by families, who are not originally from the U.S. 

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She believes that this mandatory class will give children a greater understanding of the history of Asian American culture. There are around 100,000 Asian American kids in the K-12 classes in Illinois.

"Empathy comes from understanding, and we cannot do better unless we know better," the lawmaker said. 

New Standards to Change Perceptions

The measure received a 108-10 vote from members of the House and had no opposition in the Senate. The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2022, which will give the Illinois State Board of Education enough time to prepare the guidelines. 

The bill underscores that the curriculum should touch on important Asian American events and the contribution and impact of Asian American figures in civil rights, government, arts and humanities, and sciences across the country. Local schools will have the leeway to determine the specifics of the classes. 

However, Tufts University sociology professor Natasha Warikoo believes that this is only a "symbolic" decision since it will still be up to the schools to decide the minimum time devoted for the lessons to qualify as one unit. The depth of instruction will hinge on how much training resources are given to the teachers as well.  

The professor said that for the law to have an impact, Illinois's Asian American history curriculum should impart lessons that can change perceptions that could be discriminatory. 

More States Might Follow 

Asian American Education Project founder Stewart Kwoh said that this is only the start as ten states are thinking about adopting a similar program. California has introduced Asian American history lessons in March 2021, but it is only applied as a voluntary decision for public schools. It was also issued by the state's Board of Education and has not yet been filed as legislation, unlike Illinois' mandate. Kwoh said that there is also a national movement pushing for ethnic studies, including Asian American history lessons.  

It comes as hate crimes among Asian American communities rose to 6,600 violent and discriminatory incidents between March 2020 to March 2021. From January to March this year, hate crime reports involving Asian victims reached 164% in 16 cities in the U.S., per the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University.  

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