Written and researched by CRPF Intern, Lila Wright

Senate Bill 5134 calls for “public schools to commemorate the contributions of Chinese Americans and Americans of Chinese descent.” This bill was introduced on January 3rd, 2025, and was heard publicly on January 14th in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education. SB 5134’s primary sponsor is Jim McCune (Republican, District 2) and its cosponsors include Yasmin Trudeau (Democrat, District 27), Mike Chapman (Democrat, District 24), John Lovick (Democrat, District 44), and T’wina Nobles (Democrat, District 28). Sadly, the bill did not make it out of committee by its deadline, which was Friday, February 21st. Although this means that SB 5134 will not be passed during this session, it is still important to understand its history and note its importance towards raising awareness in Tacoma and the broader Washington community. 

Washington’s history of discrimination against Chinese communities is extensive. Following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese immigration into the US, pre-established Chinese communities across the nation suffered greatly from increasingly violent acts of oppression. Tacoma, in particular, represented some of the worst of the growing anti-Chinese sentiment of the 1880s. In November of 1885, a group of Tacoma men rounded up and marched out all of the Chinese people still in the city. The following day, the men ravaged and burnt down the Chinese settlement along Tacoma’s waterfront, effectively expelling all Chinese presence from the city. This systematic and highly-coordinated expulsion of Tacoma’s Chinese community later became known as the “Tacoma Method”. To read a more in depth account of Chinese-American immigration into the US and Tacoma’s history of anti-Chinese sentiment, reference Expulsion: The Tacoma Method on our website under “About Us”. 

Although Chinese Americans currently make up 2% of Washington’s population, Chinese American history is not adequately taught in Washington’s public schools. State law designates January as Chinese American/Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, encouraging schools “to designate time … for appropriate activities in commemoration of the lives, history, achievements, and contributions of Chinese Americans and Americans of Chinese descent” (SB 5134 Senate Bill Report, 2025). Still, due to the voluntary nature of this designation, many students in Washington’s classrooms are not learning about key moments in history such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the “Tacoma Method”. 

Gavin Ripka, a student at Pacific Lutheran University, noted his insufficient knowledge of Chinese-American history when studying with Greg Youtz, CRPF’s current vice-president. After returning to Tacoma and presenting his findings to classmates, many of whom were born and educated in Washington state, he was struck by the lack of Chinese-American history in the public school curriculum. Inspired to take action, Gavin reached out to Senator Jim McCune of District 2, who agreed to sponsor a bill reforming the current curriculum to one that is more inclusive and historically representative. In advance of the January 14th Senate hearing, McCune stated that “accurately teaching the full history of Chinese Americans in Washington is critical to inspiring the civic awareness that I see as part of the state’s duty to ensure our children are properly educated … I hope everyone who is able to do so will speak at the committee hearing and let lawmakers know how important it is for this bill to advance.”

If it was passed, SB 5134 would have altered current state law to make recognition and celebration of January as Chinese American/Americans of Chinese Descent History Month mandatory, rather than voluntary, in all Washington public schools. In addition, beginning September 1st, 2025, school district boards would have been required to “incorporate instruction about the Chinese Exclusion Act and other relevant historical events, such as the Tacoma Method” (SB 5134 Senate Bill Report, 2025).  

CRPF supported SB 5134 in collaboration with the Washington State Historical Society by creating an updated curriculum that meets the requirements of the bill. This curriculum would have been made available for school districts to implement free of charge. Districts would have been able to incorporate aspects of the newly written curriculum to their currently existing educational materials and include regionally specific elements, such as teaching about the Chelan Falls Massacre in classrooms located in Southeastern Washington.

In addition to partnering with the Washington State Historical Society on the creation of the updated curriculum, CRPF’s president Theresa Pan Hosley, vice-president Greg Youtz, and CRPF board member Larry Hosley testified at the bill’s hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on January 14th. Pan-Hosley stated, “it was Chinese labor which brought a railroad to Tacoma, thus connecting the territory to the rest of the United States in 1873. Chinese also worked as loggers, mail workers … mine workers, farmers, fisherman, shopkeepers, and labor contractors during the early pioneer days, and helped prepare Washington state to become a state in 1889. [Chinese labor] not just developed Washington state, it also developed the entire United States.” 

Addressing SB 5134, Youtz noted, “the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation agree that this current bill of 2025 provides more specificity than the previous bill, and would ensure that the full history of Chinese immigration, including the historical events of the late 19th century, would be taught to K-12 students. We take no position on how this is best done … nor do we have a position on whether this current language in this bill is the best language to ensure enthusiastic support at the school level.” CRPF is dedicated to telling the story of the 1885 expulsion and moving Tacoma (and the state of Washington as a whole) towards a more inclusive future by acknowledging the past. As an organization, CRPF refers to state education specialists including the Washington State Historical Society, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and other experts to propose the best method going forward. 

SB 5134 was held in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on January 14th. Another similar bill, SB 5574, was also proposed and heard (January 18th) in the Senate this year; SB 5574 calls to provide instruction on Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander history in public schools. This is a much broader bill, encompassing all Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander history rather than focusing on specifically Chinese American history, and would not require implementation in school curriculums until 2029-30 school year. While both bills awaited executive review following their hearings, neither made it out of the Senate by the cut off date (February 21st). This means neither SB 5134 or the similar SB 5574 will go through this year.

On the positive side, SB 5134’s short time spent in the Senate raised awareness for Washington’s legislators and community members. Creating momentum for nuanced thought and discussion towards violent and discriminatory aspects of US history is always important, whether or not change can be made immediately. CRPF still has hope that a similar bill could be proposed and passed in next year’s session. Because primary historical texts from diverse voices have so often been erased from US history, it is crucial to take advantage of the ones that exist and implement them in school curriculums. 

 

This article was researched and written by CRPF intern Lila Wright, a student at the University of Puget Sound (Class of 2027). All information came from the cited sources and from direct interviews with Greg Youtz and Gavin Ripka.

 

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