What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study on Holocaust education in American schools. The study will examine whether states and local school districts require or offer Holocaust education, and how they teach it. After completing the study, the Director must submit a report to Congress with the findings.
Who It Affects
The Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will conduct the study. The study examines all states, a representative sample of local educational agencies (school district organizations that oversee schools), and representative samples of public elementary and secondary schools. Students and teachers in these schools are indirectly affected.
Key Provisions
- The Director must begin the study no later than 180 days after the bill becomes law and examine all states, a representative sample of local educational agencies, and representative school samples (Sec. 2(a))
- The Director must determine which states and local educational agencies require or offer Holocaust education as part of their curriculum (Sec. 2(b)(1) and 2(b)(2))
- The Director must identify what standards and requirements exist for Holocaust education and examine whether states and districts have systems to collect and share Holocaust education materials and provide teacher training (Sec. 2(b)(3))
- The Director must analyze what teaching strategies schools use, including classroom discussion, field trips, project-based learning, and how schools assess whether students understand Holocaust lessons about antisemitism and genocide (Sec. 2(b)(4) and 2(b)(7))
- The Director must submit the report to Congress no later than 180 days after finishing the study or three years after the bill becomes law, whichever comes first (Sec. 2(c)(2))
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, a formal study will be conducted documenting how Holocaust education is currently taught across American public schools. This study did not previously exist. The report to Congress will provide information about which states require the education, what materials are used, how teachers are trained, and whether students are learning to identify antisemitism and genocide.
Important Definitions
The bill defines these terms:
- Holocaust education means educational activities designed to improve students' understanding of the Holocaust, teach lessons about preventing genocide and hate, and study the history of antisemitism, conspiracy theories, and propaganda targeting Jewish people (Sec. 2(d)(3))
- Project-based learning means a teaching method where students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects (Sec. 2(d)(4))
- Holocaust, elementary school, local educational agency, secondary school, and state all have the meanings given in other federal education laws (Sec. 2(d)(1) and 2(d)(2))
Effective Date
The study must begin no later than 180 days after the bill becomes law. The report must be submitted no later than 180 days after the study's completion or three years after the bill becomes law, whichever comes first (Sec. 2(a) and Sec. 2(c)(2)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 603
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 27, 2023
Mr. GOTTHEIMER
(for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Ms. MANNING, Mr.
FITZPATRICK, Mr. PETERS, Mr. NICKEL, Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Ms.
BROWN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. TITUS, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr.
PANETTA, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VEASEY, Mr.
TRONE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RYAN, Ms. BONAMICI,
Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. MENG, Mr.
ESPAILLAT, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr.
PAYNE, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. WILD, Ms.
DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms.
SCHRIER, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. HIMES, Mr. DOG-
GETT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. DUNN of Florida, Mr. TORRES of
New York, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. LAHOOD,
Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. KEAN of New Jersey, Mr. BACON,
Mr. VALADAO, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. CARTER of
Louisiana, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SOTO, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. HOULAHAN,
Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. LAWLER, and
Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce
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.
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•HR 603 IH
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’’ or the ‘‘HEAL Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION.
6
(a) STUDY.—Beginning not later than 180 days after
7
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the
8
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (referred to
9
in this Act as the ‘‘Director’’) shall conduct a study on
10
Holocaust education efforts in States, local educational
11
agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools.
12
Such study shall include an examination of—
13
(1) all States;
14
(2) a nationally representative sample of local
15
educational agencies; and
16
(3) a representative sample of schools within
17
the local educational agencies being studied.
18
(b) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study under sub-
19
section (a), the Director shall—
20
(1) determine whether States and local edu-
21
cational agencies require Holocaust education as
22
part of the curriculum taught in public elementary
23
and secondary schools;
24
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•HR 603 IH
(2) identify States and local educational agen-
1
cies that have optional Holocaust education as part
2
of the curriculum taught in public elementary and
3
secondary schools;
4
(3) identify each State’s standards and local
5
educational agency’s requirements relating to Holo-
6
caust education and summarize the status of the im-
7
plementation of such standards, including—
8
(A) the existence of a centralized appa-
9
ratus at the State or local level that collects and
10
disseminates Holocaust education curricula and
11
materials;
12
(B) the existence of Holocaust education
13
professional development opportunities for pre-
14
service and in-service teachers; and
15
(C) the involvement of informal edu-
16
cational organizations in implementing Holo-
17
caust education, including museums and cul-
18
tural centers;
19
(4) determine whether public elementary and
20
secondary schools use the following strategies in
21
their Holocaust education, including through the
22
qualitative and quantitative analysis of such indica-
23
tors as—
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(A) in-class discussion;
25
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•HR 603 IH
(B) educational activities conducted out-
1
side the classroom, including homework assign-
2
ments and experiential learning involving State
3
and local organizations, such as museums and
4
cultural centers;
5
(C) project based learning;
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(D) educational materials and activities
7
that
are
developmentally
appropriate
and
8
taught through a trauma-informed lens; and
9
(E) integration of lessons from the Holo-
10
caust across the curriculum and throughout the
11
school year;
12
(5) identify the types of instructional materials
13
used to teach students about the Holocaust, includ-
14
ing the use of primary source material;
15
(6) identify—
16
(A) the duration of the periods in which
17
Holocaust education is taught in public elemen-
18
tary and secondary schools; and
19
(B) the comprehensiveness of the Holo-
20
caust education curriculum taught in such
21
schools, as indicated by the extent to which the
22
curriculum addresses all elements and aspects
23
of the Holocaust; and
24
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•HR 603 IH
(7) identify the approaches used by such
1
schools to assess outcomes using traditional and
2
nontraditional assessments, including asessments
3
of—
4
(A) students’ knowledge of the Holocaust;
5
and
6
(B) students’ ability to identify and ana-
7
lyze antisemitism, bigotry, hate, and genocide in
8
historical and contemporary contexts.
9
(c) REPORT.—
10
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the completion of
11
the study under subsection (a), the Director shall
12
prepare and submit to Congress a report on the re-
13
sults of the study.
14
(2) DEADLINE
FOR
SUBMITTAL.—The report
15
under paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later
16
than the earlier of—
17
(A) 180 days after the completion of the
18
study under subsection (a); or
19
(B) three years after the date of the enact-
20
ment of this section.
21
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
22
(1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary
23
school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary
24
school’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those
25
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•HR 603 IH
terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
1
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
2
(2) HOLOCAUST.—The term ‘‘Holocaust’’ has
3
the meaning given that term in section 3 of the
4
Never Again Education Act (Public Law 116–141;
5
36 U.S.C. 2301 note).
6
(3) HOLOCAUST EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘Holo-
7
caust education’’ means educational activities that
8
are specifically intended—
9
(A) to improve students’ awareness and
10
understanding of the Holocaust;
11
(B) to educate students on the lessons of
12
the Holocaust as a means to raise awareness
13
about the importance of preventing genocide,
14
hate, and bigotry against any group of people;
15
and
16
(C) to study the history of antisemitism,
17
its deep historical roots, the use of conspiracy
18
theories and propaganda that target the Jewish
19
people, and the shape-shifting nature of anti-
20
semitism over time.
21
(4) PROJECT
BASED
LEARNING.—The term
22
‘‘project based learning’’ means a teaching method
23
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•HR 603 IH
through which students learn by actively engaging in
1
real-world and personally meaningful projects.
2
Æ
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