Update Looks at Bills and Laws from All 50 States and the District of Columbia

New York, NY (March 25, 2025) — Committee of 100, a nonprofit membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans, today released updated data on its public policy research project that identifies and classifies state-level statutes, ongoing bills, and academic standards of K-12 curriculum pertaining to the study of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, as well as other non-white racial and ethnic groups.

Since the last update to the data on October 3, 2024, 7 states are now considering bills that would require AAPI studies curriculum (up from 3 states); 12 states are considering recently introduced bills that would require ethnic studies curriculum (up from 9 states); and 6 states have no statutes, recently introduced bills, or academic standards that require or make optional AAPI studies or ethnic studies curriculum (a decrease from 8 states)

As of March 25:

• 12 states have statutes that require AAPI studies curriculum (no change since October 3, 2024 data)
• 7 states are considering recently introduced bills that would require AAPI studies curriculum (an increase of 3 states since October 3, 2024 data)
• 16 states have academic standards that require AAPI studies (an increase of 1 state since October 3, 2024 data)
• 23 states have statutes that require ethnic studies curriculum (an increase of 1 state since October 3, 2024 data)
• 12 states are considering recently introduced bills that would require ethnic studies curriculum (an increase of 9 states since October 3, 2024 data)
• 37 states have academic standards that require ethnic studies (an increase of 4 states since October 3, 2024 data)
• 6 states have no statutes, recently introduced bills, or academic standards that require or make optional AAPI studies or ethnic studies curriculum (a decrease of 2 states since October 3, 2024 data)

Interactive Map

Committee of 100 has created an interactive map where users may select and filter among statutes, academic standards, and pending bills to meet their needs using the dropdown menus.  Each dropdown menu allows users to select among AAPI studies and/or ethnic studies (explained in the glossary below).  States displayed in red meet the selected criteria.  For instance, if “AAPI studies (required)” is selected under the statutes dropdown, and “AAPI studies” is selected under the academic standards dropdown, states displayed in red are those that have statutes and/or academic standards in place that require AAPI studies curriculum.

Image courtesy of Committee of 100

Upcoming Free Education Webinar Series on March 27

Join Committee of 100 and The Asian American Education Project for the third of a three-part series examining the rich contributions of Chinese Americans to U.S. society, both historically and in the present day. The content was sourced from Committee of 100’s report “From Foundations to Frontiers: Chinese American Contributions to the Fabric of America.”

Specifically designed for Grades 6-9 educators and open to everyone, the series addresses three main topics: (1) the impact of the Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype on Chinese Americans, (2) Chinese American contributions in food, arts, and film, and (3) Chinese American contributions in business, science, and technology. 

The third webinar – Chinese American Excellence in Business and STEM — will take place on Thursday, March 27 at 4PM ET, and then re-done for the West Coast at 7PM ET. RSVP information can be found here. (Click Option 1 or Option 2 on the right-hand side of the page)

Lesson Plans

Committee of 100 teamed with The Asian American Education Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to diversifying school curricula to include Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) histories and narratives, to launch a five-part curriculum series that focuses on the challenges, opportunities and contributions of Chinese Americans. The lesson plans can be downloaded for free here.  

Research Methodology

Committee of 100 researchers analyzed the laws, regulations, bills, and publicly available curriculum standards of all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia to determine which states have existing K-12 AAPI or ethnic studies curriculum requirements or legislative action that would enact such requirements. Committee of 100 cross-referenced state legislature websites, state statutes, keyword Google searches, and LegiScan to assess the existence and status of legislation and statutes, as well as state department of education websites and publicly available curriculum standards issued by state regulators and boards of education to determine the prevalence of AAPI and ethnic studies academic standards.

This research was originally conducted in 2022, updated in 2023 and 2024, and is currently updated as of March 25, 2025. All definitions and methodologies identified can be found on the website or pages three and four of the 2023 report.

About Committee of 100

Committee of 100 is a nonprofit U.S. leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, healthcare, and the arts focused on public policy engagement, civic engagement, philanthropy, and arts & culture. For over 35 years, Committee of 100 has served as a preeminent organization committed to the dual missions of promoting the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life and constructive relations between the United States and Greater China. Visit https://www.committee100.org.

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