Increase federal funding to support SEAA students’ success

SEAAs’ refugee history, their invisibility in education data and policy, and systemic racism create barriers to our students’ educational success. Our government must address the disparities that SEAA students experience and invest in their futures.

Key resources:

SEARAC Executive Director Quyen Dinh speaks at an AAPI rally led by NAKASEC to defend DACA.

Featured story

“My commitment to educational advocacy is shaped by my personal experience as a low-income, immigrant Southeast Asian student in the U.S public school system and my professional experiences as a teacher and youth facilitator. As a high school student, I experienced firsthand a lack of a culturally inclusive education and witnessed an unequal distribution of resources between my high school and the wealthier, predominantly white high school just across the bridge. Yet, I did not have the language to name what I was experiencing.”

SEARAC LAT 2019 participant

We need to be actively thinking about creative spaces and after-school programs that encourage participation from refugee parents in preparing their children for college. More importantly, we need to address language access. Without the ability to read documents or understand robocalls, parents are further barred from being informed on their child’s educational attainment and success.”

Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell
People pose, some jumping in the area, around a sign saying Made By Refugees

People Power in Action

Six people wear traditional attire adorned with flowers

Include Southeast Asian American ethnic studies in school curricula

Learning about the histories, culture, and experiences of our diverse communities, including SEAAs, benefits all students

Post-its and handwritten messages on a posterboard labeled with the year 1975

Increase federal funding for Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions

These colleges and universities are essential for increasing higher education access and success to low-income, first generation Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students, including SEAAs.

AAPI communities are speaking out—and the message is clear: affordability, healthcare, and economic security can’t wait.

Join us for AAPI Policy Priorities in a #YearofAction as we break down new survey data and what it means for policy action in 2026.

📅 April 29
⏰ 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET
🔗 Register: AAPIData.com/2026priorities

Hear from community leaders on how economic pressures, civil rights concerns, and global instability are shaping AAPI voter priorities—and what comes next.

#AAPI #Policy #EconomicJustice

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April 1975 forever changed the lives of families from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam when Saigon fell. This month, we remember the mass displacement, the impossible sacrifices, and the unthinkable decisions families made to survive. 

For 50 years, Southeast Asian Americans have shaped our nation's story and during this 250th year of the United States, we are inspired by their continued fight for justice and commitment to strengthening our democracy. This April, remember: Southeast Asian Americans are part of America's story.

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