Illinois became the first state to make it mandatory to include the history of Asian Americans in the public school curriculum.
Governor J. B. Pritzker signed a bill on Friday, according to which Asian American history should be taught in primary and secondary schools, starting from the 2022/23 academic year.
The historic law, passed after an active campaign, partly led by the non-profit group Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, is due to take effect on January 1.
Professor of sociology Natasha Variku, an expert on racial and ethnic inequality in education from Tufts University, says that the law is undoubtedly a victory — however, most likely, in the future, teachers and communities will determine for themselves how much emphasis to place on a new point of the curriculum.
«Many legislative acts concerning such decisions on educational programs are often symbolic in nature. They are signals to legislators about their priorities, their position and what is important for the state, » Variku said.
She added that the actual content of classes will, among other things, depend on «local politics» and employees of educational institutions.
The law requires schools to teach «the contribution of Asian communities to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States» in addition to promoting the civil rights of Asian Americans, among other aspects of history.
Varicku noted that the inclusion of the history of Asian Americans in the curriculum is crucial for combating discrimination.
«The study shows that the overwhelming number of people are more likely to consider Asians as foreigners. You see people of Asian origin — and assume that they are foreigners. I think part of the reason is that we don’t know the history of Asians in the United States,» she explains.
«In my opinion, [the new program] can weaken such prejudices against Asian Americans, making them part of US history.»
