The state of Wisconsin is growing closer to teaching Hmong and Asian American history in public schools.
AB 232 is a bill that would amend a current law that requires Winsconsin public schools to give students “an understanding of human relations, particularly with regard to American Indians, Black Americans, and Hispanics,” The Wisconsin Examiner reports. AB 232 would add “Hmong Americans and Asian Americans” to the language.
According to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), the Assembly Committee on Education heard testimony from 40 people about the bill.
“Asian American history is American history,” Kabby Hong, a 2022 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, said at the hearing, according to Spectrum 1 News. “We are your neighbor, your doctor, your grocer and even your teacher.”
Education advocates also feel it is important for students to specifically understand the history of Hmong Americans in Wisconsin. Many Hmong Americans are refugees who fled their homes after helping the U.S. fight a “secret war” in Laos during the Vietnam War, WPR reports.
“They left behind their homes, possessions and communities and each year, there are fewer Hmong veterans here to tell their stories,” State Rep. Pat Snyder, R-Schofield said, according to WPR. “This is a story that needs to be relayed to future generations.”
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