28A.320.170 - Curricula -- Tribal history and culture.

Curricula — Tribal history and culture.

(1) Each school district board of directors is encouraged to incorporate curricula about the history, culture, and government of the nearest federally recognized Indian tribe or tribes, so that students learn about the unique heritage and experience of their closest neighbors. School districts near Washington's borders are encouraged to include federally recognized Indian tribes whose traditional lands and territories included parts of Washington, but who now reside in Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. School districts and tribes are encouraged to work together to develop such curricula.

     (2) As they conduct regularly scheduled reviews and revisions of their social studies and history curricula, school districts are encouraged to collaborate with any federally recognized Indian tribe within their district, and with neighboring Indian tribes, to incorporate expanded and improved curricular materials about Indian tribes, and to create programs of classroom and community cultural exchanges.

     (3) School districts are encouraged to collaborate with the office of the superintendent of public instruction on curricular areas regarding tribal government and history that are statewide in nature, such as the concept of tribal sovereignty and the history of federal policy towards federally recognized Indian tribes. The program of Indian education within the office of the superintendent of public instruction is encouraged to help local school districts identify federally recognized Indian tribes whose reservations are in whole or in part within the boundaries of the district and/or those that are nearest to the school district.

[2005 c 205 § 4.]

Notes: Intent -- Findings -- 2005 c 205: "It is the intent of the legislature to promote the full success of the centennial accord, which was signed by state and tribal government leaders in 1989. As those leaders declared in the subsequent millennial accord in 1999, this will require "educating the citizens of our state, particularly the youth who are our future leaders, about tribal history, culture, treaty rights, contemporary tribal and state government institutions and relations and the contribution of Indian nations to the state of Washington." The legislature recognizes that this goal has yet to be achieved in most of our state's schools and districts. As a result, Indian students may not find the school curriculum, especially Washington state history curriculum, relevant to their lives or experiences. In addition, many students may remain uninformed about the experiences, contributions, and perspectives of their tribal neighbors, fellow citizens, and classmates. The legislature further finds that the lack of accurate and complete curricula may contribute to the persistent achievement gap between Indian and other students. The legislature finds there is a need to establish collaborative government-to-government relationships between elected school boards and tribal councils to create local and/or regional curricula about tribal history and culture, and to promote dialogue and cultural exchanges that can help tribal leaders and school leaders implement strategies to close the achievement gap." [2005 c 205 § 1.]