A Holocaust education bill has been introduced into the Colorado state legislature. The bill’s co-prime sponsors in the House are Reps. Dafna Michaelson Jenet (HD-30) and Emily Sirota (HD-9) and in the Senate are Majority Leader Steve Fenberg (SD-18) and Sen. Dennis Hisey (SD-2).
HB20-1336, the “Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Public Schools Bill,” requires that the Holocaust be taught in all public schools, 6th-12th grade.
It directs the State Board of Education to adopt standards that identify the knowledge and skills that the students should acquire about the Holocaust and genocide studies.
It also directs the Colorado Dept. of Education to offer curricular resources from which educators can draw ideas for their instruction on the subject.
The Colorado Jewish Community Relations Council calls on all members of the Senate and House to approve the bill.
“At a time of rising and increasingly dangerous anti-Semitism and bigotry, this bill is a welcome step in Colorado,” said Diana Zeff Anderson, JCRC chair.
“Recent studies have shown a marked decrease in knowledge about the Holocaust. JCRC believes that increasing understanding of past atrocities toward Jews and other minorities will help build a more tolerant and accepting society,” Zeff said.
As part of the preparations for the introduction of the bill, the JCRC participated in community meetings about the issue and convened a bipartisan meeting of General Assembly members.
“The candor and thoughtfulness of the discussion we facilitated between Democrats and Republicans is a testament to the JCRC’s years-long focus on building close working relationships in the Colorado General Assembly,” said Rabbi Jay Strear, president & CEO of JEWISHcolorado.
“At a time of heightened political polarization, we are heartened by the respectful, bipartisan dialogue we witnessed at the meeting.
“Colorado should be proud to see its legislators working across the aisle to affect change on this important issue.”
“We are grateful for the efforts of Reps. Michaelson Jenet and Sirota and Sens. Fenberg and Hisey, and sincerely appreciate the attention they paid to key stakeholders from the Jewish community and other communities who have experienced genocide,” Zeff said.
