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Historical photos of a Chinese family, showing mother holding small infant, and father standing next to two young children.

The bill requires schools to use teaching materials created by the Washington State Historical Society. (Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society)

Bill would require Chinese American history to be taught in public schools

Schools are currently encouraged to do so, not required.

Two years ago, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law making January Chinese American/Americans of Chinese Descent History Month in Washington. This year, two state senators aim to ensure that history is taught in public schools throughout the state.

Sens. Jim McCune (R-Graham) and Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) are the sponsors of bipartisan Senate Bill 5134, introduced to the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 14. According to the bill’s report, SB 5134 would require Washington public schools to “designate time for appropriate activities in commemoration of Chinese American/Americans of Chinese Descent History Month in January of each year.”

Currently, schools are encouraged to do so, but it is not required.

According to the Pew Research Center, Washington has the sixth-largest Chinese population in the U.S. About 1.5 percent of the state’s population is Chinese, including a large population in Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma. Chinese immigrants have significantly impacted the state throughout its history, including playing a central role in building railroads here and across the country.

If the bill passes, school districts must incorporate instruction about Chinese history into their social studies curriculum when those curriculums come up for review and approval. The bill’s summary noted at least two historical events that kids would learn about: The Chinese Exclusion Act, a treaty with the Chinese government that banned Chinese emigrants from entering America (and called for the deportation of any who arrived after 1880), and the Tacoma Method, an 1885 riot in which hundreds of men expelled the city’s Chinese community.

(Image courtesy The Washington Historical Society)

Gregory Youtz, professor emeritus of music and Chinese studies at Pacific Lutheran University and vice president of the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation based in Tacoma, testified before the committee.

“Chinese people were not fully allowed to immigrate again until the 1960s,” he said. “Despite books, television programs, newspaper articles and even an opera about this history, it is still little known due to its having been intentionally erased from public discussion and school curriculums over the last 140 years.”

Incorporating Chinese history into the school curriculum would not cost school districts anything. The bill requires them to use teaching materials created by the Washington State Historical Society, which are free. Sen. Trudeau, the bill co-sponor, said the measure “allows lots of flexibility in terms of how schools incorporate this into their current curriculum.”

The Washington Education Association (WES) weighed in with “soft other” support for the bill.

“We believe the intent of this bill,” said WEA’s Nasue Nishida. “It is a good thing to inform, celebrate, and honor histories and cultures and contributions of people, in this case, Chinese Americans and those of Chinese descent. But we want to raise some concerns about the timeline specified in the bill. It would actually go into effect about nine months from now, which is super quick.” Districts need time to ensure that what is taught is accurate.

Nishida noted that the State Board of Education is taking an intensive look at what is currently required for graduation in Washington. “There might be a way to dovetail this bill into something they are already doing or a similar process that looks at what we require of students as a whole.”

Trudeau said she is sympathetic to a balanced look at required curriculum.

“I always want to be thoughtful about what we ‘require’ versus ‘encourage’ to be taught in our schools, but I believe there are very important stories to be told about the history of Chinese immigrants in America, their experience of racism and policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act,” she said. “This isn’t a part of our history that we’re proud of today, but sometimes those lessons are the most important ones to learn.”

The committee will review SB 5134 before deciding whether or not to vote it out of committee.

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About the Author

Cheryl Murfin

Cheryl Murfin is managing editor at Seattle's Child. She is also a certified doula, lactation educator for NestingInstinctsSeattle.com and a certified AWA writing workshop facilitator at Compasswriters.com.