[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 943 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.943
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty
An Act
To authorize the Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
to support Holocaust education programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Never Again Education Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States has demonstrated a commitment to
remembrance and education about the Holocaust through bilateral
relationships and engagement in international organizations such as
the United Nations and the International Holocaust Remembrance
Alliance; the United States works to promote Holocaust education as
a means to understand the importance of democratic principles, use
and abuse of power, and to raise awareness about the importance of
genocide prevention today.
(2) The Congress has played a critical role in preserving the
memory of the Holocaust and promoting awareness, including by
authorizing the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as an
independent establishment of the Federal Government to ensure that
``the study of the Holocaust become part of the curriculum in every
school system in the country'', as well as by establishing a
national Holocaust Remembrance Day in 1978.
(3) 75 years after the conclusion of World War II, with the
decreasing number of eyewitnesses and growing distance of students
and their families from this history, it is important to
institutionalize education about the events of the Holocaust such
as the German Nazis' racist ideology, propaganda, and plan to lead
a state to war and, with their collaborators, kill millions--
including the systematic murder of 6,000,000 Jewish people; as well
as the persecution and murder of millions of others in the name of
racial purity, political, ideological, and behavioral grounds,
among them Roma, the disabled, the Slavs, Communists, Socialists,
Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals.
(4) As intolerance, antisemitism, and bigotry are promoted by
hate groups, Holocaust education provides a context in which to
learn about the danger of what can happen when hate goes
unchallenged and there is indifference in the face of the
oppression of others; learning how and why the Holocaust happened
is an important component of the education of citizens of the
United States.
(5) Today, those who deny that the Holocaust occurred or
distort the true nature of the Holocaust continue to find forums,
especially online; this denial and distortion dishonors those who
were persecuted, and murdered, making it even more of a national
imperative to educate students in the United States so that they
may explore the lessons that the Holocaust provides for all people,
sensitize communities to the circumstances that gave rise to the
Holocaust, and help youth be less susceptible to the falsehood of
Holocaust denial and distortion and to the destructive messages of
hate that arise from Holocaust denial and distortion.
(6) Currently, 12 States (California, Connecticut, Florida,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island) require by law that schools
teach students about the Holocaust; more schools and teachers,
including those in underserved communities, can and should deliver
quality Holocaust education.
(7) For more than 30 years, the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum has worked to build and support the field of
Holocaust education, and advance the quality and sustainability of
Holocaust education at the local, State, and national levels, by
engaging teachers and students across disciplines and grade levels.
(8) The Federal Government, through support for educational
activities of national museums established under Federal law, can
assist teachers in efforts to incorporate historically accurate
instruction on human rights atrocities, including the Holocaust, in
curricula.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Antisemitism.--The term ``antisemitism'' means a certain
perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.
Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed
toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals or their property, toward
Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
(3) Eligible program participant.--The term ``eligible program
participant'' means--
(A) a high school teacher, a teacher of one of the middle
grades, or a school leader of a high school or a school that
includes one of the middle grades (as such terms are defined in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801));
(B) an educational leader or expert who is not employed by
a local educational agency (as defined in section 8101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801)) or an elementary school or secondary school (as such
terms are so defined) that is independent of any local
educational agency; or
(C) a prospective teacher enrolled in a program of
postsecondary education coursework or preservice clinical
education.
(4) Holocaust.--The term ``the Holocaust'' means the
systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of
6,000,000 Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators.
During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted
other groups because of their perceived ``racial inferiority'',
such as Roma, the disabled, and Slavs. Other groups were persecuted
on political, ideological, and behavioral grounds, among them
Communists, Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals.
(5) Holocaust denial and distortion.--The term ``Holocaust
denial and distortion'' means discourse and propaganda that deny
the historical reality and the extent of the extermination of the
Jews by the Nazis and their accomplices during World War II, known
as the Holocaust. Holocaust denial refers specifically to any
attempt to claim that the Holocaust did not take place. Holocaust
distortion refers to efforts to excuse or minimize the events of
the Holocaust or its principal elements, including collaborators
and allies of Nazi Germany, to blame the Jews for causing their own
genocide, or to portray the Holocaust as a positive historical
event.
(6) Holocaust education center.--The term ``Holocaust education
center'' means an institution that furthers the teaching and
learning about the Holocaust by offering programs for students and
training for teachers and other types of professional leadership
audiences.
(7) Holocaust education program.--The term ``Holocaust
education program'' means a program that has as its specific and
primary purpose to improve awareness and understanding of the
Holocaust and educate individuals on the lessons of the Holocaust
as a means to raise awareness about the importance of preventing
genocide, hate, and bigotry against any group of people.
SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
(b) Donations, Gifts, Bequests, and Devises of Property.--In
accordance with chapter 23 of title 36, United States Code, and in
furtherance of the purposes of this Act, the Director is authorized to
solicit, accept, hold, administer, invest, and use donated funds and
gifts, bequests, and devises of property, both real and personal.
(c) Use of Funds.--The Director, using funds appropriated under
subsection (a) and resources received under subsection (b), and
including through the engagement of eligible program participants as
appropriate--
(1) shall develop and nationally disseminate accurate,
relevant, and accessible resources to promote understanding about
how and why the Holocaust happened, which shall include digital
resources and may include other types of resources, such as print
resources and traveling exhibitions; and
(2) may carry out one or more of the following Holocaust
education program activities:
(A) Development, dissemination, and implementation of
principles of sound pedagogy for teaching about the Holocaust.
(B) Provision of professional development for eligible
program participants, such as through--
(i) local, regional, and national workshops;
(ii) teacher trainings in conjunction with Holocaust
education centers and other appropriate partners;
(iii) engagement with--
(I) local educational agencies (as defined in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 21 7801)); and
(II) high schools and schools that include one of
the middle grades (as so defined) that are independent
of any local educational agency; and
(iv) operation and expansion of a teacher fellowship
program to cultivate and support leaders in Holocaust
education.
(C) Engagement with State and local education leaders to
encourage the adoption of resources supported under this Act
into curricula across diverse disciplines.
(D) Evaluation and research to assess the effectiveness and
impact of Holocaust education programs, which may include
completion of the report required under section 8.
(d) Applications.--The Director may seek the engagement of an
eligible program participant under subsection (c) by requiring
submission of an application to the Director at such time, in such
manner, and based on such competitive criteria as the Director may
require.
SEC. 5. ONLINE HOLOCAUST EDUCATION RESOURCES.
(a) Website.--The Director shall maintain on the website of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum a special section designated
for Holocaust education resources to improve awareness and
understanding of the Holocaust and educate individuals on the lessons
of the Holocaust as a means to raise awareness about the importance of
preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry against any group of people. The
website and resources shall be made publically available.
(b) Information Distribution.--The Director shall distribute
information about the activities funded under this Act through the
website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and shall
respond to inquiries for supplementary information concerning such
activities.
(c) Best Practices.--The information distributed by the Director
shall include best practices for educators.
SEC. 6. UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COUNCIL.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Council established under
section 2302 of title 36, United States Code, shall have governance
responsibility for the programs and activities carried out under this
Act in accordance with chapter 23 of title 36, United States Code.
SEC. 7. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
(a) In General.--An eligible program participant shall be engaged
at the discretion of the Director to participate in Holocaust education
program activities authorized under this Act and approved by the
Director pursuant to an application described in section 4(d).
(b) Engagement Period.--Engagement of eligible program participants
under this Act shall be for a period determined by the Director.
(c) Priority.--In engaging eligible program participants under
section 4, the Director shall give priority to applications from such
participants who work for or with a local educational agency, or a
school that is independent of any local educational agency, that does
not, at the time application is made, offer any Holocaust education
programming.
SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT.
Not later than February 1 of each year, the Director shall submit
to the Congress a report describing the activities carried out under
this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.