2022 -- H 7435

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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: Representative P Morgan

     Date Introduced: February 11, 2022

     Referred To: House Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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

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

following section:

     16-22-36. Mandatory instruction in the history of various nations.

     (a) Legislative Findings:

     (1) Rhode Island was formed on the principle of tolerance and acceptance for all.

     (2) Since its beginning, it has been a welcoming home to people from all countries of the

world.

     (3) Each person regardless of race, origin or ethnicity has contributed to the strength and

vitality of Rhode Island's culture and society.

     (4) This great melting pot of people has made Rhode Island unique among the people of

the world.

     (5) Rhode Island refused to ratify the constitution until the Bill of Rights was added, setting

a precedent for our country.

     (6) The rights included in that document were too important to be left unwritten.

     (7) In the current climate of troubling division and attacks on people of different ethnicities,

it is important to recognize, not only our international legacies, but also the ties that bind us

together.

     (8) Rhode Island has brought together people from around the world, with various

languages and traditions and knitted them together into one united family.

     (b) Based upon enumerated findings above, the Rhode Island department of education shall

make available instructional materials and resources to all of the state's school districts, departments

with the histories of all the people of various nationalities, who have come to America to make the

United States their new home.

     (c) Each school district shall include this material in their curriculum and it shall be an

active part of instruction for every student.

     (d) These nationalities may include, but not be limited to:

     (1) Portuguese Americans;

     (2) Cape Verdean Americans;

     (3) Italian Americans;

     (4) Irish Americans;

     (5) French Americans;

     (6) English Americans;

     (7) Hispanic and Latino Americans;

     (8) Dominican, Haitian, Puerto Rican, Jamaican and all Caribbean Americans;

     (9) Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, Costa Rican and all Central America Americans;

     (10) Colombian, Bolivian, Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, and all South American Americans;

     (11) Narragansett, Wampanoag, Nipmuc, Pequot and all Native Americans;

     (12) Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and all Asian Americans;

     (13) Iranian, Syrian and all Arab and Middle East Americans;

     (14) Greek American;

     (15) Indian Americans;

     (16) Filipino, and all Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian Americans;

     (17) Liberian Americans;

     (18) French-Canadian Americans;

     (19) Laotian, Vietnamese, Hmong and all South East Asian Americans;

     (20) German Americans;

     (21) Armenian Americans;

     (22) Swedish, Norwegian and Northern European Americans;

     (23) Polish, Czech, Hungary, Bosnia, Ukraine, Serbian and all Eastern European

Americans;

     (24) Jewish Americans;

     (25) Russian Americans;

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     (26) Pakistani Americans; and

     (27) Swiss Americans."

     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 schools to include in their curriculum the histories of all the people

of various nationalities, who have come to America to make the United States their new home.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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