Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act
Bill: S.3209 | Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John (R-LA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act
This bill requires the Department of State to report on the curriculum used in schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority or located in Gaza and controlled by any other entity. Among other topics, the report must address (1) whether the materials used encourage violence or intolerance toward other nations or ethnic groups, (2) the steps the Palestinian Authority is taking to reform such materials, and (3) whether U.S. foreign assistance is used to fund the dissemination of the offending materials.
The State Department must make such reports publicly available.

To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing 
the educational material used by the Palestinian Authority in schools, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian 
Education Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2016 and 2017, the Palestinian Authority published 
        modified curricula for school-aged children in grades 1 through 
        11.
            (2) Textbooks used by the Palestinian Authority in the West 
        Bank and Gaza include graphics portraying violence against 
        Israeli soldiers, positive portrayals of individuals who have 
        committed attacks against citizens of Israel, and references to 
        Palestinian efforts to target the ``Zionists''.
            (3) Palestinian Authority textbooks are used at schools 
        sponsored by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 
        Palestine Refugees in the Near East because the schools use the 
        textbooks of the host government.
            (4) On April 26, 2018, the Government Accountability Office 
        published a report that found the following:
                    (A) Textbooks in schools in areas controlled by the 
                Palestinian Authority feature inaccurate and misleading 
                maps of the region and include militaristic, 
                adversarial imagery and content that incite hatred.
                    (B) The Department of State raised with Palestinian 
                officials the objectionable content in the textbooks, 
                including a specific math problem using the number of 
                Palestinian casualties in the First and Second 
                Intifadas.
                    (C) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 
                Palestine Refugees in the Near East, in its review of 
                the textbooks, identified content not aligned with 
                United Nations values, the majority of which content 
                related to neutrality or bias issues, including issues 
                related to maps and references to Jerusalem as the 
                capital of Palestine.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Palestinian Authority has not 
sufficiently eliminated content encouraging violence or intolerance 
toward other countries or ethnic groups from the curriculum used in 
schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

SEC. 4. REPORTS REQUIRED.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 2 years in 
accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary of State shall submit to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report reviewing 
curriculum used in schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian 
Authority or located in Gaza and controlled by any other entity.
    (b) Elements.--Each report required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) A determination of whether the curriculum reviewed 
        contains content encouraging violence or intolerance toward 
        other countries or ethnic groups, and a detailed explanation of 
        the reasons for reaching such determination.
            (2) An assessment of the steps the Palestinian Authority is 
        taking to reform curriculum containing such content at schools 
        to conform with standards of peace and tolerance in the 
        Declaration of Principles on Tolerance adopted by Member States 
        of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 
        Organization on November 16, 1995.
            (3) A determination of whether United States foreign 
        assistance is used, directly or indirectly, to fund the 
        dissemination of such curriculum by the Palestinian Authority.
            (4) A detailed report on how United States assistance is 
        being used to address curriculum that encourages violence or 
        intolerance toward other nations or ethnic groups.
            (5) A detailed report on United States diplomatic efforts, 
        during the 5-year period preceding the date on which the report 
        is submitted, to encourage peace and tolerance in Palestinian 
        education.
            (6) If any diplomatic efforts referred to in paragraph (5) 
        were stopped by the Secretary of State, the reasons for such 
        stoppages.
    (c) Public Availability.--The Secretary of State shall post on a 
publicly available website of the Department of State each report 
required by subsection (a).
    (d) Subsequent Deadlines.--Each report required by subsection (a), 
other than the first such report, shall be submitted not later than 90 
days after the date on which a new school year begins for schools in 
areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
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