Less than half – 322 of the roughly 750 – of Arizona school districts and charters surveyed confirmed that they are following the law requiring the instruction of students about the Holocaust and other genocides.
The Arizona Department of Education survey asked schools to show evidence by January 24 that students were receiving the required Holocaust education.. “We surveyed districts and charters to find out if they are following the law, but more than half did not respond,” said Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in a statement on Monday. He believes new legislation could help.
Current Arizona law, ARS 15-701.02, requires students to be taught about the Holocaust and other genocides at least twice within their middle and high school years. HB 2779, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Republican Representative David Marshall (LD-7) and Democrat Representative Alma Hernandez (LD3), seeks to strengthen compliance.
HB 2779 would mandate “that students in grades 7-12 will have to twice complete a three-day program on the Holocaust and other genocides.” Passed by a House of Representatives vote last Wednesday, the bill has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Education and the Rules Committee for consideration.
Pleased to see that many schools adhere to curriculum requirements, Horne said he still wants more campuses on board.
“322 districts and charters are following the law, with many of them taking anywhere from two to four weeks to do the instruction.” He said; noting, “We need this bill to be sure all districts and charters are in compliance with the intent of the law.”
Arizona students are not alone in their lack of exposure to historical information about the Holocaust. A 2018 national survey commissioned by the nonprofit organization The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) found that “11 percent of US adults and over one-fifth of Millennials (22 percent) haven’t heard or are not sure if they have heard of the Holocaust.”
According to Claims Conference, the results of the survey showed serious deficiencies in knowledge of basic facts about the Holocaust, and there was “a broad-based consensus that schools must be responsible for providing comprehensive Holocaust education.”
Parents in districts across the country are also worried about the curriculum choices of some schools. Often, particular courses such as “Ethnic Studies” can promote bigotry and antisemitism in classrooms.
With rising antisemitism in the United States, Horne expressed concern and said, “After the horrific events of October 7, there was a one-sided pro-Hamas presentation at Desert Mountain High School that produced antisemitism among students and made Jewish students uncomfortable and fearful.”
Horne added, “If Holocaust studies are presented properly, students will be less gullible to antisemitic presentations.”
The Arizona Department of Education has curated a significant collection of Holocaust and genocide resources for teachers. The tools include K-12 resources about the Holocaust and information about genocide in areas such as Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Armenia. The materials include book recommendations, videos, lesson plans, primary sources, webinars, and virtual tours to help increase Arizona students’ awareness.
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Debra McClure is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Debra on X / Twitter.
