PHOENIX — More than half of Arizona school districts and charter schools have not yet reported whether the Holocaust and other genocides are being taught in classrooms.
Current state law requires they be taught – but State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said Monday that 322 of the 750 Arizona districts and charter schools, about 43%, have affirmed the history is being taught.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: No está claro si más de la mitad de las escuelas en Arizona enseñan el tema del Holocausto y otros genocidios
"We surveyed districts and charters to find out if they are following the law, but more than half did not respond, " Horne said in a news release.
Horne is advocating for House Bill 2779, which would require that students in grades 7-12 would have to twice complete a three-day program on the Holocaust and other genocides. The current law does not specify how much learning time is required on the subjects.
“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. If Holocaust studies are presented properly, students will be less gullible to antisemitic presentations," Horne said.
The requirement to teach about genocides was signed into law by former Gov. Doug Ducey in 2021 after advocates pushed for the education.
A spokesperson for the state's Department of Education, Doug Nick, told 12News districts and charters are asked to respond to surveys about teaching genocides "on an informational basis," but next year the department intends to put responses on school report cards.
"We gave them almost two months to respond and this is the first survey of this kind," Nick said.
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