I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 603 

To require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational 

agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2023 

Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Ms. MANNING, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. PETERS, Mr. NICKEL, Mrs. GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Ms. 

BROWN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. TITUS, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. 

PANETTA, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. 

TRONE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RYAN, Ms. BONAMICI, 

Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. MENG, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. 

PAYNE, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. WILD, Ms. 

DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. 

SCHRIER, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. HIMES, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. DUNN of Florida, Mr. TORRES of 

New York, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. LAHOOD, 

Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. KEAN of New Jersey, Mr. BACON, 

Mr. VALADAO, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. CARTER of 

Louisiana, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SOTO, Mr. GARBARINO, Ms. HOULAHAN, 

Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. LAWLER, and 

Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, 

local educational agencies, and public elementary and 

secondary schools, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holocaust Education 

5 and Antisemitism Lessons Act’’ or the ‘‘HEAL Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION. 

7 (a) STUDY.—Beginning not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

9 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (referred to 

10 in this Act as the ‘‘Director’’) shall conduct a study on 

11 Holocaust education efforts in States, local educational 

12 agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools. 

13 Such study shall include an examination of— 

14 (1) all States; 

15 (2) a nationally representative sample of local 

16 educational agencies; and 

17 (3) a representative sample of schools within 

18 the local educational agencies being studied. 

19 (b) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study under sub20 section (a), the Director shall— 

21 (1) determine whether States and local edu22 cational agencies require Holocaust education as 

23 part of the curriculum taught in public elementary 

24 and secondary schools; 


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1 (2) identify States and local educational agen2 cies that have optional Holocaust education as part 

3 of the curriculum taught in public elementary and 

4 secondary schools; 

5 (3) identify each State’s standards and local 

6 educational agency’s requirements relating to Holo7 caust education and summarize the status of the im8 plementation of such standards, including— 

9 (A) the existence of a centralized appa10 ratus at the State or local level that collects and 

11 disseminates Holocaust education curricula and 

12 materials; 

13 (B) the existence of Holocaust education 

14 professional development opportunities for pre15 service and in-service teachers; and 

16 (C) the involvement of informal edu17 cational organizations in implementing Holo18 caust education, including museums and cul19 tural centers; 

20 (4) determine whether public elementary and 

21 secondary schools use the following strategies in 

22 their Holocaust education, including through the 

23 qualitative and quantitative analysis of such indica24 tors as— 

25 (A) in-class discussion; 


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1 (B) educational activities conducted out2 side the classroom, including homework assign3 ments and experiential learning involving State 

4 and local organizations, such as museums and 

5 cultural centers; 

6 (C) project based learning; 

7 (D) educational materials and activities 

8 that are developmentally appropriate and 

9 taught through a trauma-informed lens; and 

10 (E) integration of lessons from the Holo11 caust across the curriculum and throughout the 

12 school year; 

13 (5) identify the types of instructional materials 

14 used to teach students about the Holocaust, includ15 ing the use of primary source material; 

16 (6) identify— 

17 (A) the duration of the periods in which 

18 Holocaust education is taught in public elemen19 tary and secondary schools; and 

20 (B) the comprehensiveness of the Holo21 caust education curriculum taught in such 

22 schools, as indicated by the extent to which the 

23 curriculum addresses all elements and aspects 

24 of the Holocaust; and 


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1 (7) identify the approaches used by such 

2 schools to assess outcomes using traditional and 

3 nontraditional assessments, including asessments 

4 of— 

5 (A) students’ knowledge of the Holocaust; 

6 and 

7 (B) students’ ability to identify and ana8 lyze antisemitism, bigotry, hate, and genocide in 

9 historical and contemporary contexts. 

10 (c) REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the completion of 

12 the study under subsection (a), the Director shall 

13 prepare and submit to Congress a report on the re14 sults of the study. 

15 (2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL.—The report 

16 under paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later 

17 than the earlier of— 

18 (A) 180 days after the completion of the 

19 study under subsection (a); or 

20 (B) three years after the date of the enact21 ment of this section. 

22 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

23 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

24 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

25 school’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those 


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1 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec2 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

3 (2) HOLOCAUST.—The term ‘‘Holocaust’’ has 

4 the meaning given that term in section 3 of the 

5 Never Again Education Act (Public Law 116–141; 

6 36 U.S.C. 2301 note). 

7 (3) HOLOCAUST EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘Holo8 caust education’’ means educational activities that 

9 are specifically intended— 

10 (A) to improve students’ awareness and 

11 understanding of the Holocaust; 

12 (B) to educate students on the lessons of 

13 the Holocaust as a means to raise awareness 

14 about the importance of preventing genocide, 

15 hate, and bigotry against any group of people; 

16 and 

17 (C) to study the history of antisemitism, 

18 its deep historical roots, the use of conspiracy 

19 theories and propaganda that target the Jewish 

20 people, and the shape-shifting nature of anti21 semitism over time. 

22 (4) PROJECT BASED LEARNING.—The term 

23 ‘‘project based learning’’ means a teaching method 


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1 through which students learn by actively engaging in 

2 real-world and personally meaningful projects. 

Æ 


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