Palestinian Authority Educational Curriculum Transparency Act

Bill: 115-hr-6034
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Young, David [R-IA-3]
Introduced: 2018-06-07
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Educational facilities and institutions

Elementary and secondary education

Foreign aid and international relief

Gaza Strip

Government information and archives

Middle East

Palestinians

Racial and ethnic relations

Teaching, teachers, curricula

United Nations

West Bank
Latest action: action_date: 2018-06-07
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2018-06-07
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Palestinian Authority Educational Curriculum Transparency Act</b></p> <p>This bill directs the Department of State to report annually to Congress on curricula used in schools controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA) or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the West Bank and Gaza, including determinations of whether: (1) violent or intolerant content toward other nations or ethnic groups has been removed; (2) the PA and UNRWA are reforming such curricula to conform with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization standards; and (3) the PA or UNRWA is using U.S. assistance to fund dissemination of such curricula. </p> <p>The State Department shall make such reports publicly available. </p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6034 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 7, 2018 Mr. Young of Iowa (for himself, Mr. Gottheimer , Mr. Roskam , and Mr. Sherman ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing the educational material used by the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in the West Bank and Gaza, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Palestinian Authority Educational Curriculum Transparency Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) In 2016 and 2017, the Palestinian Authority published reformed curriculums for school-aged children in grades 1 through 11. (2) The new Palestinian curriculums fail to meet the international standards of peace and tolerance in educational materials established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (3) Textbooks used by the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the West Bank and Gaza demonize Israel, encourage war, and teach children that Palestinian statehood can be achieved through violence. 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA have not sufficiently worked to eliminate all content and passages encouraging violence or intolerance toward other nations or ethnic groups from the curriculum used in their respective schools. 4. Report Required (a) In General Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for ten years in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report reviewing curriculum used in schools controlled by the Palestinian Authority or UNRWA in the West Bank and Gaza that includes the following: (1) A determination whether all content and passages encouraging violence or intolerance toward other nations or ethnic groups has been removed in such curriculum, and a detailed explanation of the reasons for reaching such determination. (2) An assessment of the steps the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA are taking to reform such curriculum at schools to conform with standards of peace and tolerance in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (adopted November 16, 1995). (3) A determination whether United States foreign assistance is used, directly or indirectly, to fund the dissemination of such curriculum by the Palestinian Authority or UNRWA. (b) Public Availability The Secretary shall make each report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) on a publicly available website of the Department of State. (c) Subsequent Deadlines Each report required by subsection (a), other than first, shall be submitted not later than 90 days after the date on which a new school year begins for schools controlled by the Palestinian Authority or UNRWA schools in the West Bank and Gaza.