PoliticoFirst US school mandate on Asian-American history heads to Illinois governor
- Governor J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign a bill on the new requirement after it cleared its last legislative hurdle on Monday
- At least 10 other states and several school districts are weighing similar moves, amid growing national concerns about anti-Asian hate and discrimination
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Shia Kapos on politico.com on June 1, 2021.
Illinois is poised to become the first US state to require Asian-American history be taught in public schools after a bill cleared its last legislative hurdle on Monday amid growing national concerns about anti-Asian hate and discrimination.
The final version of the measure cleared the state House, 108-10, after it passed the Senate unanimously last week. Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign the bill, which would mandate a unit about the Asian-American experience, including the community‘s history in Illinois and the Midwest, starting in the 2022-23 school year.
“It’s been incredibly gratifying to see support from the Asian-American community and from the non-Asian community,” said Illinois state congresswoman Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, who co-sponsored the Teaching Equitable Asian-American Community History Act – TEAACH.
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She and state Senator Ram Villivalam, a fellow Democrat, first proposed the bill in 2020, only to see it sidelined when the pandemic scrambled the legislative session – and everything else. Villivalam, who echoed many supporters of the measure, said the legislation was personal to him.