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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This resolution highlights the importance of Holocaust and genocide education and
10 encourages the State Board of Education and local education agencies to emphasize the
11 importance of this course of study.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 ▸ describes the components of Holocaust and genocide education;
15 ▸ explains the importance of Holocaust and genocide education for students, schools,
16 and communities; and
17 ▸ encourages the State Board of Education and local education agencies to provide
18 Holocaust and genocide education.
19 Special Clauses:
20 None
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22 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
23 WHEREAS, to counteract and defend humanity against unspeakable acts, we must
24 speak of and learn from past atrocities;
25 WHEREAS, "Holocaust" means the systemic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution
26 and murder of approximately 6,000,000 Jews and 5,000,000 other individuals by the Nazi
27 regime and its collaborators;
28 WHEREAS, the term genocide was coined specifically to describe the unfathomable
29 depth and breadth of atrocities perpetrated during the Holocaust;
30 WHEREAS, it is essential to provide students with knowledge of the Holocaust and
31 other genocides to help them make informed choices as citizens and to help root out despicable
32 acts of hatred, anti-Semitism, and other forms of prejudice;
33 WHEREAS, the study of the Holocaust and other genocides within the context of
34 geography, history, and political systems provides students with essential learning experiences,
35 helping students to:
36 ▸ understand the root causes, consequences, and ramifications of prejudice,
37 racism, stereotyping, and discrimination;
38 ▸ confront the issues of moral dilemmas and conflicts of conscience posed by the
39 Holocaust and other genocides;
40 ▸ learn how the Holocaust contributed to the need for the term "genocide" and led
41 to international legislation that recognized genocide as a crime; and
42 ▸ contextualize and illuminate patterns of human behavior by individuals and
43 groups and their choices of roles, including perpetrator, collaborator, bystander,
44 victim, resister, and rescuer;
45 WHEREAS, the study of the Holocaust and other genocides also sharply illustrates the
46 responsibilities of citizens in democratic societies to combat misinformation, indifference, and
47 discrimination through tools of resistance such as protest, reform, and free and fair elections;
48 WHEREAS, Holocaust and genocide education encourages students to develop
49 empathy and reaffirms the commitment of free people to never again allow genocides to occur;
50 WHEREAS, Holocaust education teaches universal lessons including: world history,
51 fascism, extremism, the fragility of democracy, the history of the Jewish people, human
52 capacity for the immorality, scapegoating and stereotyping, the role of perpetrators and
53 bystanders, the importance of empathy, diversity, and efforts toward justice;
54 WHEREAS, Holocaust and genocide education can help nurture and protect democratic
55 values and institutions;
56 WHEREAS, the study of these topics can lead students to examine what it means to be
57 a responsible and respectful person and to understand the personal responsibility that all people
58 have to fight racism and hatred whenever and wherever it happens; and
59 WHEREAS, the life lessons that students can learn from the study of the Holocaust and
60 other genocides are transferable and beneficial in many areas of study, and these life lessons are
61 central to the State Board of Education's mission and vision of public education:
62 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
63 Governor concurring therein, encourages the State Board of Education to continue its practice
64 of adopting K-12 social studies standards that include the study of the Holocaust and other
65 genocides at grade levels appropriate for such study, and in all other subject area standards as
66 suitable.
67 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that every local education agency should include
68 instruction on the Holocaust - including the systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews
69 and other groups by Nazi Germany and its collaborators - and other genocides for all
70 elementary and secondary school pupils with age-appropriate materials included in the
71 curriculum.
72 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and Governor encourage the State
73 Board of Education and local education agencies to continue providing and promoting
74 professional learning activities for educators that include evidence-based pedagogical practices
75 and access to high-quality teacher resources for providing instruction about the Holocaust and
76 other genocides.
77 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and Governor encourage local
78 education agencies and educators to use and disseminate instructional best practices and
79 high-quality curricula of appropriate lengths and complexities - coordinated across grade levels
80 and subject areas whenever possible - across the state that could form the basis for a Holocaust
81 and Genocide Studies secondary elective course.
82 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and Governor encourage parents
83 and families to reinforce the important lessons learned from this study by promoting civic
84 virtues and beneficial character qualities.
85 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and Governor encourage
86 community stakeholders, including parents, to continue collaborating with their local K-12
87 education systems to assess their needs for providing instruction on the Holocaust and other
88 genocides, including: creating an appropriate informational website, promoting appropriate
89 speakers, developing instructional resources, and conducting a teacher needs assessment.
90 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and Governor encourage
91 institutions of higher education in the state to continue and expand programming for study,
92 reflection, remembrance, and action around issues related to the Holocaust and other
93 genocides.
94 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor recognize the
95 importance of Holocaust and genocide education in helping the citizens of Utah to unite and to
96 clearly and forcefully resolve that such atrocities will never be repeated.