Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1273 To require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 25, 2023 Ms. ROSEN (for herself and Mr. LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holocaust Education 4 and Antisemitism Lessons Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION. 6 (a) STUDY.—Beginning not later than 180 days after 7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 8 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (referred to 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1273.IS S1273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1273 IS in this Act as the ‘‘Director’’) shall conduct a study on 1 Holocaust education efforts in States, local educational 2 agencies, and public elementary schools and secondary 3 schools. Such study shall include an examination of— 4 (1) all States; 5 (2) a nationally representative sample of local 6 educational agencies; and 7 (3) a representative sample of public elementary 8 and secondary schools served by the local edu- 9 cational agencies being studied. 10 (b) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study under sub- 11 section (a), the Director shall— 12 (1) determine whether States and local edu- 13 cational agencies being studied require Holocaust 14 education as part of the curriculum taught in public 15 elementary schools and secondary schools; 16 (2) identify States and local educational agen- 17 cies being studied that have optional Holocaust edu- 18 cation as part of the curriculum taught in public ele- 19 mentary schools and secondary schools; 20 (3) identify each State’s standards and the re- 21 quirements of the local educational agencies being 22 studied relating to Holocaust education and summa- 23 rize the status of the implementation of such stand- 24 ards and requirements, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1273.IS S1273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1273 IS (A) the existence of a centralized appa- 1 ratus at the State or local level that collects and 2 disseminates Holocaust education curricula and 3 materials; 4 (B) the existence of Holocaust education 5 professional development opportunities for pre- 6 service and in-service teachers; 7 (C) the involvement of informal edu- 8 cational organizations in implementing Holo- 9 caust education, including museums and cul- 10 tural centers; 11 (D) an assessment of the challenges or 12 gaps that may prevent educators from fulfilling 13 Holocaust education requirements; 14 (E) the identification of training and re- 15 sources needed to support educators teaching 16 about the Holocaust; and 17 (F) the adoption of United States Holo- 18 caust Memorial Museum resources by— 19 (i) entities at the State or local level 20 that disseminate Holocaust education cur- 21 ricula; or 22 (ii) local Holocaust museums and cen- 23 ters; 24 (4) determine— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1273.IS S1273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1273 IS (A) the range of intended outcomes from a 1 Holocaust education unit at the State and local 2 educational agency level; and 3 (B) the methods teachers are using that 4 result in successfully achieving intended learn- 5 ing outcomes, which may include— 6 (i) in-class discussion; 7 (ii) educational activities conducted 8 outside the classroom, including homework 9 assignments and experiential learning in- 10 volving State and local organizations, such 11 as museums and cultural centers; 12 (iii) project based learning; 13 (iv) educational materials and activi- 14 ties that are developmentally appropriate 15 and taught through a trauma-informed 16 lens; and 17 (v) integration of lessons from the 18 Holocaust across the curriculum and 19 throughout the school year; 20 (5) identify the types of instructional materials 21 used to teach students about the Holocaust, includ- 22 ing the use of primary source material; 23 (6) identify— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1273.IS S1273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1273 IS (A) in what disciplines the Holocaust is 1 being taught; 2 (B) the amount of time allotted in the re- 3 quired curriculum to teach about the Holocaust; 4 and 5 (C) the comprehensiveness of the Holo- 6 caust education curriculum taught in public ele- 7 mentary schools and secondary schools, as indi- 8 cated by the extent to which the curriculum ad- 9 dresses all elements and aspects of the Holo- 10 caust and is based on reliable educational re- 11 sources, such as resources provided by the 12 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; 13 and 14 (7) identify the approaches used by public ele- 15 mentary schools and secondary schools to assess out- 16 comes using traditional and nontraditional assess- 17 ments, including assessments of— 18 (A) students’ knowledge of the Holocaust; 19 and 20 (B) students’ ability to identify and ana- 21 lyze antisemitism, bigotry, hate, and genocide in 22 historical and contemporary contexts. 23 (c) REPORT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1273.IS S1273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1273 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the completion of 1 the study under subsection (a), the Director shall 2 prepare and submit to Congress a report on the re- 3 sults of the study. 4 (2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL.—The report 5 under paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later 6 than the earlier of— 7 (A) 180 days after the completion of the 8 study under subsection (a); or 9 (B) 3 years after the date of enactment of 10 this Act. 11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 12 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 13 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 14 school’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those 15 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 16 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 17 (2) HOLOCAUST.—The term ‘‘Holocaust’’ has 18 the meaning given that term in section 3 of the 19 Never Again Education Act (Public Law 116–141; 20 36 U.S.C. 2301 note). 21 (3) HOLOCAUST EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘Holo- 22 caust education’’ means educational activities that 23 are specifically intended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1273.IS S1273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1273 IS (A) to improve students’ awareness and 1 understanding of the Holocaust; 2 (B) to educate students on the lessons of 3 the Holocaust as a means to raise awareness 4 about the importance of preventing genocide, 5 hate, and bigotry against any group of people; 6 and 7 (C) to study the history of antisemitism, 8 its deep historical roots, the use of conspiracy 9 theories and propaganda that target the Jewish 10 people, and the shape-shifting nature of anti- 11 semitism over time. 12 (4) PROJECT BASED LEARNING.—The term 13 ‘‘project based learning’’ means a teaching method 14 through which students learn by actively engaging in 15 real-world and personally meaningful projects. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Apr 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1273.IS S1273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB