Including Asian American heritage and history in Pennsylvania classrooms is part of a legislative push from a state lawmaker.”It would be pre-approved curriculum, talking about Asian Americans that have done certain things in this area and nationwide. And the keyword is to celebrate Asian Americans,” said Rep. Patty Kim (D-103rd District).Kim has proposed a bill that would require the commonwealth to develop curriculum on Asian American and Pacific Islander history. She said those perspectives have not always been well-represented in Pennsylvania classrooms.”After COVID, there was a rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, and what I heard from parents the most was, ‘Can we teach some of these things in school?’ So that other kids can understand about Asian-American history, that they don’t just see the stereotypes or believe in the stereotypes and also help bring the self-confidence of Asian American students,” Kim said.There have been various iterations of the bill proposed before, but Kim is hopeful the legislation will advance to a full vote this year in the House.She said there are plans to expand the bill to make sure children of all backgrounds feel represented.”We’re looking at a bill that will be more inclusive to African American history, to Latino history, so that kids have a sense of who they are and teach the other kids to be open-minded to other cultures,” Kim said.AANHPI MonthMay is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.Click the links below for News 8’s other stories.