The Teaching Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander History Act authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible entities to carry out educational programs that include the history of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander descent in the settling and founding of America, the social, economic, and political contexts of discrimination, and the contributions of these communities to American life. It also ties these programs to current events and to the broader body of U.S. history, literature, economics, and culture.
The bill then embeds AANHPI history into federal education policy by amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to require such history in American history curricula, and in national academies and activities, with resources to support educators—including collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American Center. Finally, it expands national assessments to ensure AANHPI history is considered in progress measurements.
This is about narrowing gaps in representation and equipping teachers and students with a fuller, more inclusive narrative of American history.
At a Glance
What It Does
Authorizes grants for programs that teach AANHPI history within the broader American history curriculum and incorporates it into federal education programs. It also requires inclusion of AANHPI history in national academies, activities, and assessments, and directs Smithsonian resources to support educators and students.
Who It Affects
K-12 students, teachers, school districts, and federal education programs—the entities eligible to receive grants, as well as museums and cultural institutions that partner with schools.
Why It Matters
Addresses long-standing underrepresentation of AANHPI histories in K-12 education, broadening historical literacy and promoting a more inclusive national narrative across curricula, academies, and assessments.
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What This Bill Actually Does
This bill shifts federal education policy to center Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander histories as a core part of American history education. It creates grant programs to fund educational activities that teach these communities’ roles in founding and shaping the United States, including the social, political, and economic forces that produced discriminatory laws.
It also codifies these histories into curriculum requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, expands the scope of national history programs and academies to include AANHPI history, and directs the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center to help provide resources for educators and students. In addition, the bill requires that AANHPI history be incorporated into national assessments of educational progress.
Taken together, these provisions aim to create a more accurate and inclusive foundation for U.S. history education and to acknowledge the significant contributions and experiences of AANHPI communities.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Grants will fund educational programs that teach AANHPI history as part of American history.
Curriculum requirements will explicitly include Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history in history-related subjects.
Presidential and Congressional Academies for American History and Civics must incorporate AANHPI history and related resources.
Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center will provide programs and resources for educators and students.
National assessments will be updated to reflect AANHPI history in historical progress measurements.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Short Title
Section 1 establishes the act’s short title as the Teaching Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander History Act.
Findings
Section 2 lays out Congress’s findings about the importance of AANHPI histories to American life, the distinct histories of Pacific Island territories, the need to move beyond Eurocentric curricula, and the role of federal support in improving historical accuracy and representation.
American History and Civics Education—Curriculum Integration
Section 3(a) amends Section 2231(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to require that American history instruction include Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history. This establishes the statutory baseline for integrating AANHPI content into core history curricula and related subjects across K-12 education.
National Academies for American History and Civics
Section 3(b) amends Section 2232 to ensure that presidential and congressional academies for American history and civics include AANHPI history, with appropriate references to teachers and subjects, and expands related provisions to support educators and curriculum development.
National Activities and Resources
Section 3(c) adjusts Section 2233 to mandate that national activities and programs include AANHPI history, and to authorize the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center to provide programs and resources for educators and students.
National Assessment of Educational Progress
Section 3(d) amends Section 303(b)(2)(D) to require that the history component of the National Assessment of Educational Progress include Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history.
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Explore Education in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- K-12 students gain access to more inclusive, representative history in the curriculum.
- History teachers and curriculum specialists receive new resources and training to teach AANHPI history.
- School districts and eligible grant recipients gain funding and guidance to implement expanded content.
- Museums, libraries, and cultural institutions (including the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center) participate as content partners and resource providers.
- National educational organizations and policymakers benefit from standardized inclusion of AANHPI history across curricula and assessments.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal government bears the cost of grants and program administration.
- State and local education agencies must implement expanded curricula and may require staff training.
- Publishers and educational material producers may need to update textbooks and resources to align with new standards.
- School districts may incur costs associated with professional development and implementation of expanded content.
- Partners such as the Smithsonian may require funding and coordination resources to provide programs and materials.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing a historically inclusive curriculum with the realities of state and local control over standards, variable funding, and the logistics of training educators to deliver new material at scale.
The bill’s approach hinges on federal grants and federal curricular direction to expand historical coverage. While the findings justify greater representation, the actual implementation depends on funding levels, the capacity of eligible organizations to design and scale programs, and the ability of schools to integrate new content into diverse state standards.
There is potential tension between national standards and local autonomy, as well as between the time needed for teacher training and competing curricular priorities. The bill also raises questions about how to measure impact and ensure consistency across districts with varying resources.
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