Curriculum Advocacy – Massachusetts
Proposed MA House Bill 584
MA House Bill MA H584 titled “An Act relative to anti-racism, equity and justice in education” was introduced on 03/29/2021. The bill mandates new curriculum contents to teach students anti-racism, equity and justice. More importantly, the bill mandates formal administrative and financial structures to ensure the long-term effective implementation and assessment of such curriculum.
MA House Bill MA H584 titled “An Act relative to anti-racism, equity and justice in education” was introduced on 03/29/2021. The bill mandates new curriculum contents to teach students anti-racism, equity and justice. More importantly, the bill mandates formal administrative and financial structures to ensure the long-term effective implementation and assessment of such curriculum.
Bill Document (Click Here)
Bill Status (Click Here)
Lead Sponsors: Nika Elugardo (D)*, Erika Uyterhoeven (D)*,
Co-Sponsors: David LeBoeuf (D), Jack Lewis (D), Liz Malia (D), Frank Moran (D), Steven Owens (D), Lindsay Sabadosa (D), Steve Ultrino (D),
Relevant Government Agency:
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
Advocacy Groups
Coalition for Anti-Racism in Education l CARE (care4eduequity.org).
- Professor Paul Watanabe talks about the Massachusetts bill introduced that requires history of non-white people in the U.S. to be included in K-12 education. State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven talks about the legislative process and how community advocates can get more support for the bill. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TxCnRglyK4A&feature=youtu.be
- Professor Song talks about the necessity for students to see themselves represented in the curriculum from an educational perspective. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1O3fYbfBIo
The Commonwealth of Massachusettes Asian American Commission. The AAC is a permanent body dedicated to advocacy on behalf of Asian Americans throughout Massachusetts.
Academic Alliances
University of Massachusetts Boston
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Educator advocacy groups have proposed measures to encourage more Asian Americans to enter the field of education, e.g., offering loan forgiveness and expanding bilingual education.
Media Coverage
There has been no media coverage on the House Bill 584.
There were limited media coverage last fall on a Boston city level campaign to add ethnic studies to school curriculum.
