As conservatives push against public education for immigrants without legal residency, some initiatives across the country are seeking to integrate new cultures even more into school curriculums. Such is the case of a new bill in the New Jersey state Legislature which looks to make it mandatory for Hispanic and Latino history to be taught in public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade.
New Jersey has a rapidly growing Hispanic and Latino population, accounting for about 22% of the state's 1.1 million residents according to the U.S. Census figures, making it an ideal place to integrate lessons on the contributions of the community into the curriculum, as the State Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz told The Philadelphia Inquirer:
"When I was being taught those phases of American history, it was as if we were never there. We made contributions in very significant ways and we want teachers to tell the American story inclusive of everyone who contributed to it"
In some New Jersey school districts, similar initiatives are already in place, the Inquirer reports. The Camden school district, where Latino students make up more than half of the student body, has made Latin American studies a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2027. Previously, the course was offered only as an elective.
Genaro Borrero, a bilingual social studies teacher at Camden's Eastside High School, told the Inquirer that how current history is taught in schools often omits significant events like the Mexican-American and Spanish-American Wars. He also praised initiatives that foster inclusion in history since "it helps continue the melting pot that was the original idea of America.
A 2023 study by Johns Hopkins University echoes Borrero's sentiment, revealing that "87% of key topics in Latino history were either not covered in the evaluated books or mentioned in five or fewer sentences."
The bill has advanced out of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee with unanimous support. It follows similar legislation requiring the inclusion of African American, Asian American, and Pacific Islander history in New Jersey's public school system, as well as instruction on the Holocaust, genocide, and LGBTQ+ contributions.
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