Bill Text: HI SB2839 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating To Education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-24 - Referred to EDU, WAM. [SB2839 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SB2839-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2839
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to education.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that genocide is defined as "the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group, with the aim at destroying that nation or group."  Instances of past genocides include the Holocaust, the largest blatant genocide, the Armenian Genocide, the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine, the Rwandan Genocide, and atrocities in Cambodia, Bosnia, Sudan, and Darfur.

     The legislature further finds that as the number of living Holocaust survivors and eyewitnesses dwindles, Holocaust denial and ignorance are becoming much more prevalent.  It is important that stories of survivors of the Holocaust be told to audiences around the globe.  Unfortunately, far too many students in the United States grow up without basic knowledge of the events of the Holocaust.

     The legislature additionally finds that there are alarming lapses in knowledge about the Holocaust throughout the country.  A survey released in April 2018 by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany shows that Americans are forgetting about the Holocaust or are completely unaware it occurred.  For instance, while there were over forty thousand camps and ghettos during the Holocaust, forty-nine per cent of millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) cannot name one of these camps or ghettos.  Thirty-one per cent of Americans believe that two million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust, even though six million Jews and millions of others perished.

     In order to bridge the gap between the facts of history and what people know, it is imperative that comprehensive Holocaust education is taking place in every secondary school across the country.  Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require the department of education to develop and implement a Holocaust and genocide curricula.

     The legislature intends that through this Act, students are educated on the historical existence of the Holocaust, one of the most devastating genocides in historical documentation, and other documented genocides.  The legislature further intends that the curriculum developed pursuant to this Act will teach the difference between genocide, conducted through killing and eradication of a group, and cultural genocide, conducted through the dismantling of a people's identity.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§302A-     Holocaust and genocide; curricula plan; public schools.  (a)  The department shall develop and, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, implement a statewide Holocaust and genocide curricula plan for public school students in a grade and age appropriate manner, which shall be implemented within social studies and language arts courses of study.

     (b)  A minimum of six hours of instruction of the Holocaust and genocide curricula between grades eight through twelve shall be required for each student prior to graduation from high school.

     (c)  The Holocaust and genocide curricula shall include, at minimum:

     (1)  An additional unit of instruction studying acts of genocide across the globe, including but not limited to the Holocaust, Armenian Genocide, the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine, the Rwandan Genocide, and atrocities in Cambodia, Bosnia, Sudan, and Darfur;

     (2)  The breadth of the history of the Holocaust, including information on the Third Reich dictatorship; events of the Nazi atrocities of 1933 to 1945, including but not limited to the concentration camp system and persecution of Jews and non-Jews; Jewish and non‑Jewish resistance; and post-World War II trials;

     (3)  A discussion of antisemitism, racism, and the abridgement of civil rights by Nazi Germany and its collaborators;

     (4)  Instruction that communicates the connection between nation, ethnic, racial, or religious intolerance, the Holocaust, and the impact of personal responsibility, civic engagement, and societal response within the context of the Holocaust; and

     (5)  Acknowledgement of genocides occurring within a society previously considered an advance society, including scientifically demonstrated steps toward genocide and warning signs of genocide.

     (d)  The Holocaust and genocide curricula shall be taught in a manner that leads to an investigation of human behavior; an understanding of the ramifications of antisemitism leading to prejudice, racism, and stereotyping; and an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person.

     (e)  The department shall establish curriculum guidelines and distribute information about appropriate curriculum materials to each public school and make available in-service training programs based upon instruction provided for and the curriculum guidelines established pursuant to this section.

     (f)  The department shall create and distribute materials and resources to respond to antisemitism, racism, and hate‑related topics for teachers to use when either the teacher or a student faces, experiences, or is exposed to antisemitism, racism, or crimes of hate by another student, teacher, parents or guardians of a student, or a guest of a school.

     (g)  Public schools may utilize:

     (1)  Any curriculum that complies with the requirements of this section;

     (2)  Programs made available by the department or from alternative sources if they are deemed consistent with this section; and

     (3)  Any appropriate public or private materials, personnel, and other resources in developing and implementing the program of instruction.

     (h)  The department shall work in consultation with organizations and individuals that provide educational expertise and resources related to the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights violations to develop the curriculum guidelines.

     (i)  The department may accept gifts, grants, and donations, including in-kind donations, from public agencies and private persons to be designated for the development and implementation of the Holocaust and genocide curricula required pursuant to this section.

     (j)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Genocide" includes any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group:

     (1)  Killing members of the group;

     (2)  Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

     (3)  Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

     (4)  Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or

     (5)  Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

     "Holocaust" means the systematic, state-sponsored, persecution and murder of six million Jews and the targeting of other groups including Roma and Sinti, political dissidents, gay men, Slavic peoples, and other individuals deemed inferior by the Nazi regime and its collaborators."

     SECTION 3.  The department of education shall submit a report on the progress of developing and implementing the statewide Holocaust and genocide curricula plan pursuant to section 2 of this Act including any findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2025.

     SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the development and implementation of the Holocaust and genocide curricula required pursuant to section 302A-   , Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 5.  In accordance with section 9 of article VII of the Hawaii State Constitution and sections 37‑91 and 37‑93, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the legislature has determined that the appropriations contained in H.B. No.     , will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be exceeded by $           or      per cent.  In addition, the appropriation contained in this Act will cause the general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be further exceeded by $           or      per cent.  The combined total amount of general fund appropriations contained in only these two Acts will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be exceeded by $           or      per cent.  The reasons for exceeding the general fund expenditure ceiling are that:

     (1)  The appropriation made in this Act is necessary to serve the public interest; and

     (2)  The appropriation made in this Act meets the needs addressed by this Act.

     SECTION 6.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that section 4 shall take effect on July 1, 2024.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

 

Report Title:

Department of Education; Holocaust; Genocide; Curricula; Appropriation; Expenditure Ceiling

 

Description:

Requires the department of education to develop and implement a Holocaust and genocide curricula.  Appropriates funds.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.