House Passes Asian American History Awareness Legislation

Press release from ILGA:

April 23, 2021

Illinois students across the state will get a stronger education in their classrooms on Asian American history under legislation sponsored by state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, which passed the Illinois House of Representatives last Wednesday.

“Asian Americans have played a significant part in our country’s history, but for decades those experiences have been neglected in American education. It’s time to correct that oversight,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “The Asian American community and all of our children deserve better from schools than an incomplete curriculum that represents a skewed version of America. I’m grateful for my colleagues for standing with me on the importance of this issue.”

Gong-Gershowitz recently passed the Teaching Equitable Asian American History, or TEAACH, Act out of the Illinois House of Representatives with a strong bipartisan majority. This legislation does a number of things to improve Asian American representation in Illinois education, including requiring that every public elementary and high school include a unit of instruction on Asian American history in their curriculums.

“We have an opportunity to begin to correct an issue our education system has overlooked for too long,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Ensuring our children get an accurate education is a priority for me, especially in a time where we are seeing an unprecedented amount of violence against Asian Americans across our country.”

This press release was produced by ILGA. The views expressed here are the author's own.