HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	123
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

requesting the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION to convene a working group to develop a WRITTEN plan for every public school elementary, middle, and high school to provide a unit of instruction in Asian American and PACIFIC ISLANDER history as part of their required curriculum, commencing with the 2024-2025 school year.

WHEREAS, because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, there has been a sharp increase in discrimination against Asians in the United States; and

WHEREAS, there is also an increased awareness of the issues that Pacific Islander Americans, especially migrants from Compacts of Free Association (COFA) nations, continue to face, especially the lack of access to health care; and

WHEREAS, the State's current K-12 school curriculum fails to adequately teach Asian American and Pacific Islander history, particularly regarding the impact of historical discrimination of the United States against Asians and Pacific Islanders, such as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and the displacement of and detrimental health impacts to Pacific Islanders that resulted from the nuclear testing, mining, and establishment of United States military-industrial complexes across the Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian islands; and

WHEREAS, oftentimes, Asian Americans are held as the "model minority", a mythos that only serves to justify discriminatory practices against other minorities and ignores the countless sacrifices of early Asian immigrants; and

WHEREAS, there is widespread negative public perception of Pacific Islander Americans in the State, especially COFA migrants as they are wrongfully perceived as a drain on resources and continue to face discrimination in access to housing, education, and employment; and

WHEREAS, teaching students about the contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States could be greatly beneficial and would allow students to feel empowered and to understand their ethnic identities as well as their personal civic duty; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Education is requested to convene a working group to develop a written plan for every public elementary, middle, and high school to provide a unit of instruction in Asian American and Pacific Islander history as part of each school's required curriculum, commencing with the 2024-2025 school year; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of members invited by the Superintendent of Education; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plan developed by the working group is requested to include how:

(1) The Board of Education will incorporate in its curriculum a unit of instruction on the events of Asian American and Pacific Islander history, including the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Hawaii, contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward, and contributions of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to the cultural, economic, political, and social development of the United States; and

(2) The Superintendent of Education will prepare and make available to all school complex areas instructional material, including but not limited to instructional material established by non-governmental sources that shall be the guidelines for development of the Asian American and Pacific Islander history education in each school; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in addition to teaching students about Asian American and Pacific Islander history, the updated curriculum is requested to include a unit of instruction about how race shapes power structures and lived experience to further teach students about their civic duty; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each school complex area is requested to determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction in Asian American and Pacific Islander history; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of Education is requested to monitor each school complex area's compliance with the Asian American and Pacific Islander history curriculum requirements during their annual compliance visit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the superintendents of each complex area in the State.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Board of Education; Asian American and Pacific Islander History; Curricula; Working Group; Superintendent of Education