Stern authors bill on Holocaust and genocide education

Sen. Henry Stern, D-Los Angeles, has introduced Senate Bill 472, a bill aimed at addressing gaps in Holocaust and genocide education in the state’s schools. 

The bill will implement two key recommendations from a statewide study: providing direct funding to school districts to teach this critical material, and establishing a system to monitor and evaluate educational outcomes, according to a news release from the senator’s office. 

This initiative follows the release of a report by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education. The report, titled “Holocaust and Genocide Education in California: A Study of Statewide Context and Local Implementation,” explores the state of education across California and seeks to equip educators and students with the tools necessary to confront hate, bigotry, and misinformation, while fostering empathy and resilience, the release said.  

Of the 143 school districts that responded to the study, only 26% have programs for Holocaust or genocide education, the release said. The gap is both rural (24%) and urban (31%), leaving a hole in both liberal and conservative communities for internet disinformation and antisemitism to spread, the release said. 

“Eighty years ago, Auschwitz was liberated. Today, most young Americans have never heard of such a place,” Stern, whose district includes some western portions of the Santa Clarita Valley, said in the release. “We have a blind spot in our education system when it comes to Holocaust and genocide education.”  

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