House File 2457 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 2457
BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(SUCCESSOR TO HF 2197)
(COMPANION TO SF 2059 BY
GRUENHAGEN)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for education on the holocaust for students
2 and teachers in school districts.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 280.36 Education on the holocaust.
2 1. The general assembly finds all of the following:
3 a. Recent studies have shown there to be a severe lack
4 of awareness in the state of Iowa regarding historical facts
5 about the holocaust and antisemitism, and the causes and
6 ramifications thereof.
7 b. Antisemitism remains a persistent, pervasive, and
8 disturbing problem in contemporary American society.
9 c. In order to provide students with an understanding of the
10 importance of the protection of human rights and the potential
11 consequences of discrimination against and persecution of
12 Jewish people, it is a matter of high priority that students in
13 this state be educated concerning the holocaust.
14 d. Sources of free curricula and instructional materials for
15 education on the holocaust include but are not limited to the
16 United States holocaust memorial museum; yad vashem: the world
17 holocaust remembrance center; the Illinois holocaust museum and
18 education center; and echoes and reflections, a partnership of
19 the anti-defamation league, yad vashem, and the university of
20 southern California shoah foundation.
21 2. For purposes of this section, unless the context
22 otherwise requires:
23 a. “Antisemitism” means the same as defined in section
24 216F.1.
25 b. “Holocaust” means the systematic, bureaucratic,
26 state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately
27 six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies and
28 collaborators.
29 c. “Nazi” means the abbreviation for the national socialist
30 German workers’ party, a political party of the mass movement
31 known as national socialism under which its leader, Adolf
32 Hitler, came to power in 1933 and governed by totalitarian
33 methods until 1945.
34 d. “Organization” means one or more of the following
35 organizations:
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1 (1) The United States holocaust memorial museum.
2 (2) Yad vashem: the world holocaust remembrance center.
3 (3) The Illinois holocaust museum and education center.
4 (4) Echoes and reflections, a partnership of the
5 anti-defamation league, yad vashem, and the university of
6 southern California shoah foundation.
7 (5) Any other entity approved for education on the holocaust
8 by the department of education.
9 3. a. No later than the school year beginning July 1, 2024,
10 the board of directors of a school district shall incorporate
11 age-appropriate and grade-appropriate instruction regarding
12 the holocaust for students in middle and high school into the
13 school district’s educational program. Such instruction shall
14 be incorporated into existing required courses and include, at
15 minimum, the following:
16 (1) The causes and ramifications of the holocaust.
17 (2) The breadth of the history of antisemitism and
18 the holocaust, including the third reich dictatorship,
19 concentration camp system, persecution of Jews and non-Jews,
20 Jewish and non-Jewish resistance, and post-World War II trials.
21 (3) The impact of personal responsibility, civic
22 engagement, and societal response in the context of the
23 holocaust.
24 (4) The connection between national, ethnic, racial,
25 or religious intolerance and the subjects described in
26 subparagraphs (1) and (2).
27 (5) The leading role played by the United States and
28 the United States armed forces, including African American
29 soldiers, including but not limited to the Tuskegee airmen,
30 as well as Native American and Asian American soldiers, in
31 defeating the third reich and its allies and liberating Nazi
32 concentration camps.
33 (6) The definition, history, and actions taken in the face
34 of the holocaust.
35 b. School districts shall utilize appropriate public or
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1 private materials, personnel, and other resources in developing
2 and implementing education on the holocaust in accordance with
3 this section.
4 4. No later than the school year beginning July 1, 2024,
5 the board of directors of a school district shall incorporate
6 education on the holocaust for teachers into the district
7 professional development plan developed pursuant to section
8 284.6 for teachers who provide instruction in courses into
9 which student instruction in accordance with subsection 3 is
10 incorporated. Such training shall cover the topics required
11 by subsection 3. School districts shall utilize appropriate
12 programs provided by an organization for such training.
13 Education on the holocaust provided to teachers in accordance
14 with this section shall be credited toward a teacher’s
15 individual professional development plan under section 284.6.
16 5. Annually by October 1, the department of education
17 shall submit a report to the governor and the general assembly
18 addressing the number of school districts offering education
19 on the holocaust to students and teachers in accordance with
20 this section. The department shall publish the report on the
21 department’s internet site.
22 6. This section shall not be construed to diminish or
23 infringe upon any right protected under the Constitution of
24 the State of Iowa or the first amendment to the Constitution
25 of the United States. This section shall not be construed to
26 conflict with any local, state, or federal law relating to
27 discrimination.
28 Sec. 2. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance
29 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring
30 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall
31 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid
32 received by the school district under section 257.16. This
33 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed
34 to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of
35 section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding
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1 shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act
2 by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school
3 districts.
4 EXPLANATION
5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
6 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
7 This bill requires each school board to incorporate
8 age-appropriate and grade-appropriate instruction regarding
9 the holocaust for students in middle and high school into the
10 school district’s educational program. Such instruction shall
11 be incorporated into existing required courses. The bill
12 specifies the content of such instruction. School districts
13 shall utilize appropriate public or private materials,
14 personnel, and other resources in developing and implementing
15 education on the holocaust.
16 The bill requires each school board to incorporate education
17 on the holocaust for teachers into the school district
18 professional development plan for teachers who provide
19 instruction in courses into which student instruction in
20 accordance with the bill is incorporated. Such training shall
21 cover the topics specified by the bill. School districts shall
22 utilize appropriate programs provided by an organization, as
23 specified in the bill, for such training. Education on the
24 holocaust provided to teachers shall be credited toward a
25 teacher’s individual professional development plan.
26 A school board shall carry out the requirements for
27 education on the holocaust for students and teachers no later
28 than the school year beginning July 1, 2024.
29 The bill requires the department of education to submit
30 an annual report to the governor and the general assembly
31 addressing the number of school districts offering education
32 on the holocaust to students and teachers in accordance with
33 the bill.
34 The bill shall not be construed to diminish or infringe upon
35 any right protected under the Constitution of the State of
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1 Iowa or the first amendment to the Constitution of the United
2 States. The bill shall not be construed to conflict with any
3 local, state, or federal law relating to discrimination.
4 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
5 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of
6 any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school
7 district from state school foundation aid received by the
8 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification
9 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate
10 funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The
11 inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the
12 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state
13 mandates included in the bill.
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