In 2021, Illinois became the first state to require every public elementary and high school to teach a unit of Asian American history.

That’s because of the passage of the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History, or TEAACH Act.

But five years later, it’s not clear how many schools are teaching the material.

HOST: DEGMAN

It’s been five years since Illinois became the first state to require every public elementary and high school to teach a unit of Asian American history.

That’s because of the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History, or TEAACH Act.

Today, advocates say there’s still a long way to go in putting the law into practice in schools.

So why is it important for everyone… but especially young people... to learn this history?

HOST: LANE

Closing schools in Chicago became a political hot potato after former Mayor Rahm Emanuel shuttered 50 all at once in 2013.

But as enrollment in the district continues to drop, there’s a growing chorus of people who say it's time to do another round.

Yet the question will no longer be in the mayor’s hands. This year, for the first time ever, city voters will get to elect the whole school board.

The four candidates for president were asked at a WTTW forum earlier this week how they would confront this issue.

HOST: LANE

You may have heard about the controversy surrounding Flock cameras and their use – and abuse – by city and suburban police officers.

But you may NOT have realized that lots of colleges use the A-I-powered surveillance tools, too.

Including right here in Chicago, at one of Illinois’s largest campuses.

It’s one of five public universities in the state that contract with Flock.

HOST: LANE

Lawmakers passed the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act – or the TEAACH Act – in 2021.

And other states have since followed in Illinois’ footsteps.

But as WBEZ’s Minju Park reports in part one of the “Teaching History” series…

The promise of the TEAACH Act has not yet been fully delivered.

HOST: LANE