S-332-119
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 470.
Sponsored by Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
What it does
This bill would direct the Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study of Holocaust education efforts across all 50 states, a nationally representative sample of local school districts, and a representative sample of public elementary and secondary schools. The study would examine whether Holocaust education is required or optional, what standards and curricula exist, what resources and professional development are available to teachers, and what teaching methods and assessments are being used. The Director would then submit a report of findings to Congress within three years of enactment.
Who benefits
Policymakers and legislators who would receive data to inform future Holocaust education legislation. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, whose resources and curricula would be assessed for adoption rates. Teachers and school administrators who may gain visibility into best practices and resource gaps. Jewish communities and advocacy organizations focused on Holocaust remembrance and antisemitism awareness. Students in schools that may receive improved curricula as a downstream result of the study's findings. Researchers and educators in the broader field of genocide and human rights education.
Who is hurt
State and local education agencies that would bear administrative burdens in responding to study data requests. School districts with limited staff capacity may find participation in the nationally representative sample time-consuming. Taxpayers would bear the cost of the study, though the bill does not specify an appropriation amount. Organizations that produce Holocaust education materials not affiliated with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum may be disadvantaged if the study's framing implicitly elevates USHMM resources as the benchmark standard.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that Holocaust education is uneven and inconsistently implemented across the country — a 2020 survey by the Claims Conference found that 63% of American millennials and Gen Z could not identify what Auschwitz was, and 11% believed Jews caused the Holocaust. They contend that a rigorous, nationally representative study is a necessary first step to understanding where gaps exist before Congress can craft effective, targeted policy responses to rising antisemitism and historical illiteracy.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that education curriculum is a core state and local function under the Tenth Amendment, and that a federally directed study — particularly one that benchmarks curricula against a specific federal institution's materials — represents the first step toward federal standardization of what is taught in local classrooms. They contend that the study's framing, which defines "comprehensive" Holocaust education partly by the extent to which it uses U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum resources, could pressure districts toward a single federally preferred curriculum.