New Social Studies standards in Connecticut will include Sikhism

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The Connecticut State Board of Education voted in favor of new social studies standards, which will include Sikhism for the first time ever.

The vote, which took place Oct. 4, 2023, will give approximately 514,000 students in Connecticut the opportunity to learn about the Sikh community, the Sikh Coalition said in a press release.

“These new standards will provide students the opportunity to learn about the Sikh community at all three levels of their education,” Norwich City Councilman   Swaranjit Singh of Norwich, CT, is quoted saying. “Classroom instruction about Sikh history and contributions from an early age are critical in creating a safe environment for our students,” he added.

Since September 2022, the Sikh Coalition and the Sikh community in Connecticut lobbied for this measure The Sikh Coalition first reached out to the Connecticut State Department of Education (DOE) in September of 2022 outlining how and why Sikhi should be included in the standards. An expert reviewer worked with those involved throughout the standards revision process. A sign-on letter was also sent out.

Local adoption and implementation of the new standards will begin in the coming years, the press release said.

Connecticut is now the 18th in a growing list of states that have worked with the Sikh Coalition to include accurate information about Sikhs in their public school social studies standards, the organization said. In June 2023, Washington, D.C. became the most recent region to ensure inclusion of Sikhism.

“These efforts mean that more than 25 million students from coast to coast have the possibility of a more inclusive and holistic education,” Sikh Coalition said.