Saud Anwar

Sen. Anwar Joins Unanimous Senate Passage Of Black & Puerto Rican Studies Bill

HARTFORD – State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) joined in a unanimous and bipartisan vote this week to re-make Connecticut’s school curriculum to specifically include the history and accomplishments of African-American, Puerto Rican and Latino studies.

“We make the best decisions in our lives based on the knowledge that we have, and at times, nowadays, when I see the decisions people make, I feel those decisions are not fair or right because their education has been incomplete,” said Sen. Anwar. “How do you equalize that? It requires providing them with knowledge and understanding of experience. We must invest in sharing the history of our country. With it, we will be in a better place. I thank Senator Doug McCrory for his hard work on this important legislation.”

House Bill 7082, “AN ACT CONCERNING THE INCLUSION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM SUMMARY,” adds African-American and black and Puerto Rican and Latino studies to the required programs of study for Connecticut public schools, and it requires all local and regional boards of education to include these topics in their curriculum beginning with the 2021-22 school year.

At the March 6, 2019 public hearing on the bill, nearly 250 people appeared to testify in support of the bill, including a student who testified “I do not believe that the racial inequities currently displayed in society can be changed, unless they are explicitly addressed in schools.”

Senator Doug McCrory, an educator for 27 years and Senate Chair of the legislature’s Education Committee, said all successful school curriculums have the “three R’s” in common: they are rigorous, relevant, and create a relationship with the students.

For far too long, Sen. McCrory said, black and Hispanic students have not had a personal relationship with school curriculums when it comes to history and social studies.

The bill, which passed the House of Representatives last week on a bipartisan 122-24 vote, now heads to Governor Lamont for his signature.