Section 161.700

Title XI EDUCATION AND LIBRARIES

Chapter 161

Effective - 28 Aug 2022, 3 histories   

  161.700.  Citation of law — commission created, members — Holocaust defined — executive director may be employed — Holocaust education week. — 1.  This section shall be known as the "Holocaust Education and Awareness Commission Act".

  2.  There is hereby created a permanent state commission known as the "Holocaust Education and Awareness Commission".  The commission shall be housed in the department of elementary and secondary education and shall promote implementation of Holocaust education and awareness programs in Missouri in order to encourage understanding of the Holocaust and discourage bigotry.

  3.  The commission shall be composed of twelve members to be appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate.  The makeup of the commission shall be:

  (1)  The commissioner of higher education;

  (2)  The commissioner of elementary and secondary education;

  (3)  The president of the University of Missouri system; and

  (4)  Nine members of the public, representative of the diverse religious and ethnic heritage groups populating Missouri.

  4.  The Holocaust education and awareness commission may receive such funds as appropriated from public moneys or contributed to it by private sources.  The commission may sponsor programs or publications to educate the public about the crimes of genocide in an effort to deter indifference to crimes against humanity and human suffering wherever they occur.

  5.  The term "Holocaust" shall be defined as the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators during the period from 1933 through 1945.

  6.  The commission may employ an executive director and such other persons to carry out its functions.

  7.  (1)  To educate students about the Holocaust and inspire in students a sense of responsibility to recognize and uphold human value and to prevent future atrocities, the second week in April shall be designated as "Holocaust Education Week".

  (2)  Holocaust education shall be taught during a week as determined by each school district and shall include age-appropriate instruction to elementary school students not lower than the sixth grade and high school students as determined by each school district.  Such instruction shall include, but not be limited to:

  (a)  Information providing a historical understanding of the Holocaust to offer context for the discussion of how and why the Holocaust happened;

  (b)  Participation, in person or using technology, in learning projects about the Holocaust; and

  (c)  The use of materials developed or supported by the Holocaust education and awareness commission, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, or the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum.

  (3)  Based on the instructional materials provided under paragraph (c) of subdivision (2) of this subsection, the department of elementary and secondary education shall develop a curriculum framework of instruction for studying the Holocaust.  The department shall make such curriculum framework available to up to twenty-five school districts or schools within a district, with at least one district or school within each of the nine regional professional development centers, as defined by the department, as a pilot program in consultation with the Holocaust education and awareness commission beginning in the 2023-24 school year.

  (4)  Each school district participating in the pilot program shall adopt the curriculum framework provided by the department under subdivision (3) of this subsection in the 2023-24 school year.  Each school district shall determine the minimum amount of instruction time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this subsection.

  (5)  Each participating school district shall provide a plan of professional development for teachers to ensure such teachers are adequately prepared to provide the instruction required under this subsection.

  (6)  This subsection shall apply to schools participating in the pilot program starting in the 2023-24 school year and the program shall be expanded in all subsequent school years, with all school districts participating by the 2025-26 school year.

  (7)  The department shall provide for a program evaluation regarding the success and impact of the pilot program upon completion of the first year of the pilot program and shall report the results of such evaluation to the general assembly.  The department may consult with organizations including, but not limited to, the Holocaust education and awareness commission, the United States Holocaust Museum, or the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum to develop the evaluation.

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(L. 2006 S.B. 1189, A.L. 2019 H.B. 266 merged with H.B. 604, A.L. 2022 S.B. 681 & 662)