Curriculum Advocacy – Illinois

Illinois recently passed the TEAACH Act (Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act) to amend its existing Ethnic Studies mandates that included African American and Hispanic American Studies. This achievement is celebrated in the AAPI communities nationwide and inspires advocates to push for similar bills in their own states.

On April 14th, 2021, Illinois General Assembly (lower House of the state legislature) passed Bill 0376 The TEAACH Act mandating Asian-American history in school curriculum. The Bill was then submitted to the Senate Education Committee as SB0648. Advocacy groups worked with senate sponsors to amend the House Bill by removing language that singled out Japanese Americans, in order to make the bill more equitable for all Asian American groups.

On May 25th, 2021,Illinois State Senate passed SB0648 unanimously. On May 31st, 2021, the General Assembly passed the Bill with the Senate amendment. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law on July 9th, 2021.

House Bill 0376 Text: 10200HB0376eng (ilga.gov)

Bill Webpage (Click Here) 

Senate Bill Text 10200SB0648 (ilga.gov)

Bill Status: Assigned to Senate Education Committee on 04/28/2021 Illinois General Assembly – Bill Status for SB0648 (ilga.gov)

Legislative Champion

Senate Sponsor: (Sen. Ram Villivalam – Patricia Van Pelt and Antonio Muñoz)On April 14th, 2021, Illinois General Assembly (lower House of the state legislature) passed Bill 0376 The TEAACH Act mandating Asian-American history in school curriculum. The Bill was then submitted to the Senate Education Committee as SB0648. Advocacy groups worked with senate sponsors to amend the House Bill by removing language that singled out Japanese Americans, in order to make the bill more equitable for all Asian American groups.

On May 25th, 2021,Illinois State Senate passed SB0648 unanimously. On May 31st, 2021, the General Assembly passed the Bill with the Senate amendment. The bill has now been sent to Governor Pritzker for signature.