HR768-119

What This Bill Does

The Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act requires the Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study of Holocaust education efforts in states, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools. The study must begin within 180 days after enactment and cover all states, a nationally representative sample of local educational agencies, and a representative sample of public schools served by those agencies.

The study must examine whether Holocaust education is required or optional, identify state and local standards, summarize implementation, and review centralized curriculum systems, teacher professional development, informal educational organizations such as museums and cultural centers, educator challenges, needed training and resources, and adoption of Holocaust Memorial Museum resources. It must also study intended learning outcomes, teaching methods, instructional materials, disciplines, classroom time, curriculum comprehensiveness, and assessment of students' knowledge and ability to analyze antisemitism, bigotry, hate, and genocide. The Director must report the results to Congress within 180 days after completing the study or within three years after enactment, whichever comes first.

Who Benefits and How

Congress benefits from a national evidence base on how Holocaust education is required, taught, resourced, and assessed. State education agencies and local educational agencies benefit from comparable information about standards, gaps, and teacher supports. Teachers and students benefit if the study identifies training, materials, and methods that improve Holocaust education and antisemitism lessons. Holocaust museums and cultural centers benefit from recognition of their role in curriculum implementation and adoption of museum resources.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Director and research staff must design and conduct a national study, collect data, analyze curriculum practices, and prepare the report. State education agencies, local educational agencies, and public schools in the sample must provide information about standards, curricula, professional development, materials, instructional time, and assessments. Congress must review and use the report if it wants to act on the findings.

Key Provisions

• Requires the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Director to begin a national Holocaust education study within 180 days.
• Requires the study to include all states, a nationally representative local educational agency sample, and a representative public school sample.
• Directs the study to examine curriculum mandates, optional education, standards, implementation, teacher professional development, museum involvement, training needs, and resource gaps.
• Requires review of teaching methods, instructional materials, disciplines, instructional time, curriculum comprehensiveness, and student assessments.
• Requires a report to Congress within 180 days after study completion or three years after enactment.
• Defines Holocaust education to include Holocaust awareness, genocide prevention lessons, hate and bigotry awareness, and the history and changing forms of antisemitism.