Gong-Gershowitz Legislation Raising Awareness of Asian American History Passes House

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Illinois students across the state will get a stronger education in their classrooms on Asian American history under legislation sponsored by state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, which passed the Illinois House of Representatives last Wednesday.  

“Asian Americans have played a significant part in our country’s history, but for decades those experiences have been neglected in American education. It’s time to correct that oversight,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “The Asian American community and all of our children deserve better from schools than an incomplete curriculum that represents a skewed version of America. I’m grateful for my colleagues for standing with me on the importance of this issue.”

Gong-Gershowitz recently passed the Teaching Equitable Asian American History, or TEAACH, Act out of the Illinois House of Representatives with a strong bipartisan majority. This legislation does a number of things to improve Asian American representation in Illinois education, including requiring that every public elementary and high school include a unit of instruction on Asian American history in their curriculums.

“We have an opportunity to begin to correct an issue our education system has overlooked for too long,” Gong-Gershowitz said. “Ensuring our children get an accurate education is a priority for me, especially in a time where we are seeing an unprecedented amount of violence against Asian Americans across our country.”