WA May Pass Bill to Increase Holocaust and Genocide Awareness in Schools
News Brief by Mia Gallegos | FāVS News
Several panelists and increasing numbers of staff within Washington’s school system are speaking up about the lack of Holocaust and genocide education within public schools around the state. As such, April may become designated as International Holocaust and Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month within the state of Washington, courtesy of the efforts of several members of the Washington State Legislature.
Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Shoreline, is co-sponsoring a bill that supports this new April designation, while also taking plans a step further by mandating educational instruction on both the Holocaust and various historical genocides beginning during the 2027-28 school year.
The Holocaust is the only named genocide within the bill that was passed through Legislature in mid-January. Several activists who have familial or personal linkage to other genocides have suggested amendments to the bill that would extend a mention to these other significant tragedies, so that they don’t remain unmentioned within the classroom environment.
Spokane Public Schools has already made some strides in educating its students about the Holocaust, reported The Spokesman-Review. They have done so by naming its newest middle school after Carla Olman Peperzak, a Holocaust survivor living in Spokane. Copies of her memoir, “Keys of My Life,” are in the school’s library and include the story of her time working against the Nazis in the Dutch resistance movement.
