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Students tell Stevenson board the TEACH Act isn’t fully implemented; ask district to adopt student demands
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Summary
Students and a Hana Center coordinator asked the Adlai E. Stevenson HSD 125 board to fully implement the 2021 TEACH Act, urging curricular expansion, new classes, professional development and use of shared lesson resources. Speakers said the law’s goals remain unmet locally.
At the Adlai E. Stevenson HSD 125 Board of Education meeting, students and a HANA Center representative urged the district to finish implementing the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEACH) Act and adopt a set of student-drafted demands.
"We deserve an education that tells a full story and not just parts of it," said Marla Simpson Dargle, a Stevenson sophomore and member of the Suburban Youth Council, during public comment. She said her classroom experience reduced Asian American history to a few events and stereotypes rather than a full accounting of cultural contributions, leadership and innovation.
The presentations cited the TEACH Act, signed in 2021 and scheduled for classroom rollout in 2022–23, and said students at Stevenson still feel the law has not been implemented with the depth intended. "Five years later, students across the Northwest Suburbs, including at Stevenson, still feel like the law has not been fully implemented," said Andrew Veil Lasales, suburban youth program coordinator at the HANA Center.
Speakers asked the district to expand curricular offerings, including more Asian American authors and diaspora histories, to create elective courses and to provide teacher professional development, ready-to-use lesson plans, and shared resource lists. Hannah, a sophomore with the Suburban Youth Council, described learning about events such as the Gwangju Uprising through community programs and said those stories are largely absent from school coursework. "Representation matters because it helps students feel seen and connected to who they are," she said.
Board Chair (S3) acknowledged the comments and noted there are meetings already scheduled with district staff to discuss implementation details, telling the board, "My understanding, Wendy, is that there's already a meeting set up with Brad Smith and Kim Lusoff." Administrators did not take immediate action at the meeting; the student presenters said they will share resources and professional materials to support district compliance.
Why it matters: The TEACH Act is a state law that directs schools to teach Asian American history with accuracy and depth; speakers said incomplete adoption shapes how students see themselves and others. The board did not vote on curriculum changes at this meeting but was asked to consider the students' demands as it works through course approvals and instructional planning.
Next steps: The presenters offered to share curated lesson plans and resource lists. District staff said they will continue conversations and bring curriculum proposals back to the board in upcoming packets.
