Long-overlooked history is now being written into California’s classrooms through the state’s new Hmong Model Curriculum, a project years in the making and shaped by scholars, communities, and cultural workers.
Only recently — after the passage of Senate Bill 369 in 2023 and a related 2021 education bill prioritizing Southeast Asian history — did the space open up for this kind of curriculum to be integrated into the state’s classrooms.
Sacramento State associate professor and Director of Asian American Studies Bao Lo has been involved in developing the classwork, reviewing lesson plans and shaping the subject areas. She explains that even though Sacramento is home to one of the country’s largest Hmong communities, most students here have grown up learning almost nothing about their Hmong classmates or neighbors…