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Indian American State Senator pushes for AAPI curriculum in Penn schools
The bill aims to include AAPI descent’s contribution to school curriculum
Indian American Nikil Saval introduced bill 893 / Image - Facebook/senator Nikil Saval
State Senators Maria Collett (D-12 Montgomery) and Indian American Nikil Saval (D-1 Philadelphia) have introduced Senate Bill 839 to incorporate AAPI curriculums and materials in Pennsylvania schools to expand education and combat the rise in bias crimes against people of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) descent.
Senate Bill 839, will mandate the Department of Education to develop an “integrated curriculum that includes AAPI persons, history, and contributions to American society" and to distribute AAPI-related resources to schools.
The bill, which will be introduced alongside Representative Patty Kim's HB 779, would also direct the State Board of Education to conduct a study to determine how school districts in Pennsylvania are teaching AAPI curriculum across the state and to guarantee that students are receiving comprehensive training on AAPI history and societal contributions.
Commenting on the bill, Senator Saval said, “Every student in our Commonwealth deserves the opportunity to see their heritage honoured as part of the broad fabric of the American experience.”
“When we are granted occasion to learn about each other’s lives, families, and histories, we begin to see how much we share, and how deep our stake is in a world that supports all of us. It is only then that we can stand together, in solidarity, and work to build that world,” he further added.
Pennsylvania ranked sixth for hate incident reports filed between March 2020 and December 2021, according to the most current Stop AAPI Hate National Report. In May 2023, Florida, ranked seventh, became the latest state to enact AAPI-inclusive curriculum legislation into law.
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