Chapter 292
2022 -- H 7272 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/29/2022

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

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. Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history study.
     (a) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, every public elementary school and
secondary school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Asian
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) history, including the history of
AA and NHPIs in Rhode Island and the Northeast, as well as the contributions of AA and NHPIs
toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward. These events shall include the
contributions made by individual AA and NHPIs in government and the arts, humanities, and
sciences, as well as the contributions of AA and NHPI communities to the economic, cultural,
social, and political development of the United States. The studying of this material shall constitute
an affirmation by students of their commitment to respect the dignity of all races and peoples and
to forever eschew every form of discrimination in their lives and careers.
     (b) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall make available to all
school districts instructional materials that may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of
instruction under this section. Provided, however, each school district shall itself determine the
minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying the
requirements of this section.
     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC003899/SUB A
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