7 Since Time Immemorial Continued

Unfortunately, because so few districts implemented Since Time Immemorial, in 2015 the Washington State Legislature had the need to create Senate Bill 5433 which now requires either Since Time Immemorial or other Tribally-developed curriculum be taught in all schools (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction). Because of still present resistance and indifference even after SB5433, Senate Bill 5252 was created and passed from the state Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education. This bill mandates that all school board members, superintendents, and teachers complete tribal consultation and training materials by September 1st, 2024, and allocates an immediate $200,000 for consultation and training and another $500,000 to be used for the same purposes for the following two years.

This increase in funding follows complaints that the financial burden of implementing the curriculum has been largely placed on the Tribes and individual school districts (Reyna 2022). Marjorie James, curriculum and engagement manager of the Tulalip Tribes, says that Tribes have had to pay for the majority of the creation of the curriculum and teacher training over the years. This is because the 2015 bill failed to allocate any funding for the curriculum’s creation, collaboration or implementation.

Now, seven years after this bill was passed, representatives from the state superintendent’s office, the Office of Native Education, and Indigenous leaders in education doubt that any of the Since Time Immemorial curriculum has been fully implemented across all grade levels in any district in Washington (Reyna 2022). The original lack of funding may be to blame for this issue, which has resulted in the need for yet another attempt to assure the curriculum’s implementation—the introduction of House Bill 1332. This bill would yet again strengthen the language and require all Washington school districts to comply with these requirements by 2026, and would establish instruction requirements by grade level and require the state Board of Education to evaluate districts annually for compliance. This bill has fortunately passed in the Washington State House of Representatives at the time of writing, and is set to be considered in the state Senate next.