By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

State Senate Bill 5574, a bill which would require Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) history to be taught in K-12 social studies in Washington state by the 2029-2030 school year, did not make its way out of committee. 

A public hearing held before the Washington State Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on Feb. 18 took testimony from those with a say about the proposed law. The majority of those signing up to speak were in favor of the bill. A committee vote would determine whether the bill would go further this legislative session. However, after the hearing, a vote was never called before the Feb. 21 deadline for bills to be voted out of committee. Many in support of the bill were concerned that there was little time in the hearing for them to be heard and that it was a mere formality to have the hearing knowing it would never get past that stage this session. 

Advocacy group, Make Us Visible Washington (MUV), spearheaded the effort in drafting the bill and a coalition of nearly 60 local Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community-based organizations and allies signed a letter of support for SB 5574.

“The testimony was very limited,” stated Devin Cabanilla, who helped with the grassroots campaign to get the bill before lawmakers. “All of our stories are very different, especially coming from the elders.” Cabanilla had hoped that the testimony would last longer, but the committee only heard around 20 minutes of testimony. “The part that felt extremely unfair was that we felt the point of the hearing was to determine if the bill could go further,” he explained. “But [it seemed like] they already had a foregone conclusion and we were given token time.” 

83-year-old Doug Chin was upset that he could not testify at the hearing. He woke up at 4 in the morning to make the drive down to Olympia. 

“I have a passionate perspective that would be different from some of those that support the bill.”  He explained, “I attended Seattle Public Schools in the 1940s and 1950s and at that time, there was no mention of AA groups in our history classes.” Chin, who has written about the history of the Chinatown-International District, stated that the lack of AANHPI history when he was going to school made it feel as though he was not an American and part of this country. 

“37 people signed up to testify,” stated the director of MUV, Angelie Chong. “However, time was limited and not every person that signed up was chosen to speak.” 

 “It was disheartening.”

State Sen. Lisa Wellman, chair of the Education Committee, picked those to testify for the bill and some individuals were chosen out of order. 

A representative from Wellman’s office responded in an email writing, “Sen. Wellman had dedicated 15-20 minutes for the public hearing on that bill, but ultimately allotted closer to 30 for public testimony.” The statement went on to state, “We recognize we aren’t able to hear from everyone who signs up to testify. However, we do our best to get broad representation during the public testimony on a bill. We go back and forth between in-person and online testimony, and to get different perspectives, we try to create a balance of people who have signed in to testify as pro, con, or other.”

“The 2/18 committee hearing occurred during the policy cutoff week, and we needed to dedicate enough time to [sic] executive to allow for debate among the committee members. The executive session ended up taking less time than what we had predicted, and that’s why the committee ended earlier than it was scheduled.”

“Students deserve to learn the full story of our state and the people who have shaped it,” said Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee Vice Chair state Sen. T’wina Nobles, sponsor of SB 5574. “Education is the strongest tool we have to counter misinformation and division.” Nobles, a Black legislator from the 28th District in the University Place area, added, “Including Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander history is not only important for accuracy in our curriculum but fostering understanding, strengthening communities, and preparing students to engage in a diverse world.”

When the hearing was over, those that showed up online or in person were not finished. 

“I literally asked people to read testimony in the hallway,” said Cabanilla. The testimony was recorded for social media purposes. Nobles sent an email apology to the supporters of SB 5574 who expected more time. Cabanilla had hoped that he’d get an apology from other lawmakers for the lack of time, especially for elders like Chin who made the extra effort to make it to Olympia. 

“There’s a lot of frustration because it (the bill) had so much support,” said Chong. “We received a ton of input from community groups.” Chong explained the need for the law to be passed and taught in schools. “If there is nothing stated in law, the status quo is we’re not included,” Chong added, “The outcome of that is ignorance and not knowing we’ve been here. 

If we do nothing, it’s going to be worse for our communities, especially in this climate. We were really hoping that our local lawmakers would hear us.”

Despite the setback, Chong and MUV will continue with their efforts to get SB 5574 passed.

“It’s a marathon,” Chong stated about the work still needed to push the legislation through to at least a vote. 

“It’s a good bill,” advocated Chong, who noted that it would not require further training for educators and would not cost extra money. Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Delaware, and Florida have passed laws requiring Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander history be taught in schools.

Jason can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.

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