A Legislative Push

I knew that convincing a group of teachers was only part of the journey. To truly bring change to the school system, I needed to reach out to local legislators. This marked the beginning of my advocacy work on a legislative level. I reached out to Representative Mike Lee, who was not only receptive to my cause but also willing to help. With his support, we drafted a bill that would introduce Korean as a foreign language option in public schools.

Vice Chair Ichiyama also came on board as a cosponsor, and together we worked to garner support from other legislators. I met with more than 20 legislators, carefully crafting my message to show how the bill would benefit students and the state as a whole. 

Fortunately, I was able to persuade 22 legislators to co-sponsor the bill. The proposed legislation was co-introduced in both chambers as HB #471 and SB #876. While the bills ultimately faced setbacks, one was deferred and the other wasn’t given a hearing, I presented at Neighborhood Board #7 (Mānoa) and Board #11 (Makiki-Tantalus), both of which passed resolutions supporting the effort.