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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - CURRICULUM

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Fenton-Fung, Barros, Vella-Wilkinson, Shallcross
Smith, Casimiro, Azzinaro, Kennedy, and Tobon

     Date Introduced: February 02, 2022

     Referred To: House Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Chapter 16-22 of the General Laws entitled "Curriculum [See Title 16

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Chapter 97 - the Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended by adding thereto the

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following section:

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     16-22-36. Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander history study.

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     (a) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, every public elementary school and

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secondary school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Asian

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American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) history, including the history of

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AA and NHPIs in Rhode Island and the Northeast, as well as the contributions of AA and NHPIs

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toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward. These events shall include the

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contributions made by individual AA and NHPIs in government and the arts, humanities, and

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sciences, as well as the contributions of AA and NHPI communities to the economic, cultural,

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social, and political development of the United States. The studying of this material shall constitute

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an affirmation by students of their commitment to respect the dignity of all races and peoples and

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to forever eschew every form of discrimination in their lives and careers.

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     (b) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall make available to all

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school districts instructional materials that may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of

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instruction under this section. Provided, however, each school district shall itself determine the

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minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying the

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requirements of this section.

 

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - CURRICULUM

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     This act would require all public elementary and secondary schools in Rhode Island to

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provide at least one unit of instruction on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander

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History and culture.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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