RICHLAND, Wash.– When Micah Fitzgerald isn’t busy playing basketball or running her own small business, she is drafting legislative bills for the Washington state Senate.
The Richland High School junior is a member of the Washington Youth Advisory Council, where she and four other students from across the state worked together on Senate Bill 5441.
Senate Bill 5441 calls for the recognition of public school curricula to include the contributions and history of all ethnic and cultural groups, including Black Americans, European Americans, queer people, people with disabilities, Asian and Pacific Americans, and Latin Americans, among others.
According to the bill, “An inclusive education helps students of all backgrounds, cultures, and identities connect with the instructional materials and helps all students feel a sense of belonging at school.”
On January 30th, Fitzgerald, who is Black, and her peers from the Youth Advisory Council appeared to testify before the Washington State Senate.
“SB 5441 challenges some of the most divisive and most troubling portions of society that the marginalized people of color community have to be faced with everyday,” said Fitzgerald in her testimony.
The bill outlines several steps for creating and implementing these inclusive curricula. These steps included designating a school and regional curricula coordinator to support the development and adoption of the curricula. As well as the collaboration between statewide educational offices to create a database of accessible resources on the histories of different ethnic and cultural groups.
State Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, sponsored the bill.
“Our students are our future,” said Wilson in a statement. “They engage and they offer a perspective that we adults do not have. These students offered crucial insights into the needs of their classmates and I am proud to have worked with them to bring these bills to the Senate.
Fitzgerald tells me that Senator Claire Wilson’s support is something she won’t forget.
“Just to have somebody powerful and in this position that Claire Wilson is really special to know that she’s supporting you all the way.”
SB 5441 was reviewed and passed in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee and is currently on its way to the Ways and Means Committee.
Fitzgerald tells me that she hopes this bill will help future generations of people of color feel accepted in school.
“I know in schools right now we focus on more eurocentric part of things, but I feel like we should represent the people of color who are also in the school systems to make them feel seen in education,” said Fitzgerald.
