As of March, seven states require Asian American and Pacific Islander studies in schools, new research by the nonprofit Committee of 100 has found.
On top of that, 15 states have recently introduced bills that would require AAPI studies in K-12 curriculum, according to the Committee of 100, a nonprofit membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans. Education departments in 12 states and Washington, D.C., already standardize AAPI studies, and 27 state education departments and Washington, D.C., have academic standards that include ethnic studies.
But seven states have not established requirements nor introduced legislation for AAPI or ethnic studies, the research said. They are Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and
Wyoming.
The seven states that do require AAPI studies in K-12 curriculum are Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, Nevada, California, Oregon and Nebraska.
Between 2019 and 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes significantly increased — by 145% — in 16 major U.S. cities, according to the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
“This rise in anti-Asian American violence prompted an increase in attention to the issues surrounding anti-Asian hate and public policy solutions to address them,” said the Committee of 100’s researchers in a white paper.”
AAPI curriculum should include how Asian Americans contributed to society as well as the challenges they faced, researchers said. “Most importantly, this curriculum will help all students understand how these events affected the past and current AAPI experience in the United States.”
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