Originally published on NBC 5 on July 9, 2021.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed into law a new measure making Illinois the first state in the U.S. to require Asian American history be taught in public schools.

Pritzker signed House Bill 376, the Teaching Equitable Asian American History or TEAACH Act, at Niles West High School in suburban Skokie.

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Category: In The News

Originally published on ABC 7 on July 9, 2021.

SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) -- Asian American history is now a required curriculum in public schools in Illinois.

This historic legislation makes Illinois the first state in the nation to require the teaching of Asian American History.

It's called the "TEAACH ACT" or Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History.

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Category: In The News

Originally published on CNN on July 9, 2021.

(CNN)In the midst of a right-wing attack on creating a more inclusive education in the US, Illinois just became the first state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act on Friday, set to go into effect January 1.

"Today, we are reaffirming our commitment to creating more inclusive school environments. We're making Illinois the first state in the nation to require that Asian American history will be taught in public schools, including a unit about the Asian American experience," said Pritzker in a statement. "We are setting a new standard for what it means to truly reckon with our history. It's a new standard that helps us understand one another, and, ultimately, to move ourselves closer to the nation of our ideals."

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Category: In The News

Originally published in Injustice Watch on May 25, 2021.

Illinois is poised to become the first state to require that public schools teach their students the history of Asian Americans, who have endured an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Illinois Senate passed the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act, known as the TEAACH Act, by a unanimous vote of 57-0 on Tuesday. The legislation, introduced in January by Illinois State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, passed the state House in April. The House has to approve a Senate amendment before it will head to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk for his signature.

The bill would require every elementary and high school in the state to devote a unit of curriculum to the history of Asian Americans in the United States, including in Illinois and the Midwest. School districts would have until the start of the 2022-2023 school year to comply.

The TEAACH Act requires schools to include in U.S. history courses the role that Asian Americans have played in advancing civil rights and highlight their contributions to the country’s development.

State Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said education is one part of a “multipronged” strategy to tackle the rise in discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Addressing the issue will also require better hate crime reporting, more representation in government, and training people to be better bystanders who intervene when they witness anti-Asian harassment, he said.

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Category: In The News

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