When hate incidents spiked against Asian Americans during the pandemic, Jason Chang, director of the Asian American Institute at the University of Connecticut, knew remaining silent was not the answer.

A member of Gov. Ned Lamont’s Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council, Chang sought the ear of legislators with a solution he hoped would bring empathy and compassion as an antidote to the hatred.

He proposed adding Asian American and Pacific Islander studies to the social studies curriculum in every school district in the state.

As a result, Democratic Sens. Saud Anwar and Derek Slap and Republican Sen. Tony Hwang and Rep. Robert Sanchez in 2022 introduced bipartisan legislation that passed that session.

Now beginning this school year, each local and regional board of education is

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