Committee holds public hearing on bill requiring tribal history curriculum and reporting

The House Education Committee opened a public hearing March 13 on Substitute Senate Bill 5570, sponsored in the Senate by Senator Claudia Kauffman. The bill would require school districts to incorporate the John McCoy “Since Time Immemorial” (STI) curriculum into social studies curricula by Sept. 1, 2026, strengthen tribal consultation requirements, and establish a monitoring and reporting schedule for district compliance.

Sen. Claudia Kauffman, prime sponsor, told the committee the proposal codifies an existing curriculum requirement and adds a timeline and supports for districts that have not implemented it. “We simply just put a date on it and provide additional supports for the public school system,” Kauffman said. She said the bill’s intent is to support districts and tribes in partnering to deliver accurate, regionally specific materials about tribal history and government.

Ethan Moreno, nonpartisan committee staff, summarized the bill’s key elements: by Sept. 1, 2026, districts must incorporate the STI curriculum; districts must consult with federally recognized tribes within and adjacent to their boundaries when revising social studies materials; the Office of Native Education (a division within OSPI) will play an expanded role in providing assistance and will help identify district implementation challenges; and the State Board of Education will implement an annual monitoring and evaluation system for district compliance between the 2026–27 and 2028–29 school years, with annual reports to the Legislature.

Tribal and district witnesses urged passage. Henry Strom, assistant superintendent for the Office of Native Education and a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, said the curriculum helps Native students “be seen” and described students who used song and drum in school morning circles to center themselves and persist in learning. “Let the children sing,” Strom said, recounting classroom examples of cultural practices helping student engagement.

Bernard [last name redacted], executive director of teaching and learning for Highline Public Schools, said the bill’s accountability provisions are important: he said his district has begun requiring principals and teachers to report when they teach tribal history and urged the committee to hold districts to the same reporting standards used elsewhere in K–12 oversight. Witnesses from several tribes and districts — including Kirsten Jensen, an instructional coach in Bellingham, and Alyce Washines, an original curricular writer for the STI materials — described local partnerships that produce place-based curriculum and asked the Legislature to ensure compensation for tribal knowledge and to provide implementation supports.

Testimony also raised practical questions. Representative McIntyre asked whether the bill could include non-federally recognized tribes; Kauffman said the bill focuses on federally recognized tribes but could be amended later. Representative Esselick asked how many districts had not yet implemented the STI curriculum; staff and witnesses said that data are not currently available and one purpose of the bill is to create a reporting and monitoring mechanism so the state can identify which districts need support.

Committee members limited oral testimony because of the day’s long agenda and asked witnesses to keep remarks succinct; the committee recorded 732 total sign-ins for this bill’s hearing (94 pro, 638 con, 0 other per committee clerk’s readout) though multiple speakers in the room and online testified in support. The bill briefing materials and testimony referenced the Office of Native Education, OSPI’s STI curriculum guidance, and the State Board’s proposed monitoring schedule. No vote was taken; the hearing was for testimony only.