Efforts to require Asian American history in schools after anti-Asian hate starting to pay off

Connecticut Schools Pioneer Comprehensive AAPI History Curriculum

When students in West Hartford Public Schools study World War II this year, they’ll learn about Sadao Munemori, a 22-year-old Japanese American soldier who sacrificed his life protecting comrades from a grenade and posthumously became the first Japanese American awarded the Medal of Honor.

This represents just one example of Connecticut’s newly implemented Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history curriculum, which goes beyond surface-level coverage to provide students with a more nuanced understanding of America’s diverse past.

“It’s one of those moments where you think ‘How have we not been doing that?'” said Jessica Blitzer, the district’s social studies department supervisor. “This is really important, particularly given the population that we have in West Hartford, which is incredibly diverse in many ways.”

Three years after Connecticut became the third state to mandate AAPI history in K-12 education, the curriculum is finally reaching classrooms. Most of the district’s 9,300 students will receive instruction integrated throughout the academic year rather than confined to heritage month celebrations. Currently, the program is being implemented across all grade levels except fourth and fifth.

The curriculum development comes amid a nationwide movement advocating for more inclusive education. Since 2020, when pandemic-fueled anti-Asian hate crimes surged across the country, AAPI advocacy groups have mobilized to make their history a mandatory part of public education. A 2024 survey indicates most AAPI adults want educators to teach history through the lens of racism, slavery, and segregation.

Beyond well-known historical events, West Hartford’s classes will examine topics such as stereotypes of South Asians and the experiences of Vietnamese refugees. The curriculum aims to present a comprehensive view of AAPI experiences, including both struggles and triumphs.

The push for inclusive education gained significant momentum following the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings that left six Asian women dead. AAPI organizations intensified lobbying efforts, hoping that teaching about AAPI contributions would foster greater understanding and reduce prejudice. Illinois became the first state to mandate Asian American history in July 2021, with New Jersey and Connecticut following in 2022.

Jason Oliver Chang, director of the University of Connecticut Asian and Asian American Studies Institute who helped develop the legislation and train teachers, recalls how lawmakers were moved by student testimonials.

“They were talking about their experiences sort of living two lives — one at school, one at home — feeling invisible and not feeling seen by their peers,” Chang said. “Any time there’s a mention of someone that looks like them in a school curriculum, it’s that they’re the bad guys.”

While the initiative has garnered bipartisan support in many states, it has also sparked debate within the AAPI community itself. Some progressive voices question collaborating with lawmakers who have rejected other historically marginalized groups’ history curricula.

In Florida, critics saw the state’s adoption of AAPI history legislation in 2023 as hypocritical, given its rejection of Advanced Placement African American studies. Similarly, in Arizona, JACL leaders withheld support for AAPI history legislation co-sponsored by Republican Senator John Kavanagh, citing concerns about a sanitized historical perspective.

Kavanagh, who equates discussions of systemic racism with indoctrination, maintains that teaching history must be done in a “neutral, thorough manner.” This stance has created divisions among AAPI advocacy groups regarding strategy and principles.

Amber Reed, co-executive director of AAPI New Jersey, expressed concern about this selective approach to history education: “What teacher wants to suddenly start teaching Asian American history while sort of being discouraged from teaching African American history or Latinx history, the history of all of our communities?”

In West Hartford, administrators emphasize that their goal is to present a balanced view of history. “There’s resistance, there’s perseverance, there’s greatness,” said assistant superintendent Anne McKernan. “As I look through the changes in elementary and the changes in secondary, it’s a richer look.”

Elementary schools are incorporating AAPI perspectives through literature that simultaneously builds reading comprehension and cultural awareness. Kindergartners, for example, read “Dumpling Soup” by Jama Kim Rattigan, which features a family in Hawaii with characters from different Asian backgrounds.

“It’s giving teachers and students that natural opportunity to learn a little bit more about the where and the who and the traditions that come from those stories,” explained Erika Hanusch, the district’s literacy and social studies curriculum specialist.

As West Hartford completes its first year implementing the curriculum, administrators plan to assess outcomes and refine their approach before next summer, continuing their commitment to presenting American history in its full complexity and diversity.