HEAL Act

Bill: 117-hr-9681
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5]
Introduced: 2022-12-22
Policy area: Education
Latest action: action_date: 2022-12-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-12-22
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act or the HEAL Act</b></p> <p>This bill directs the Institute of Education Sciences to study and report on Holocaust education efforts in public elementary and secondary schools. Among other elements, the study must (1) identify the states and local educational agencies that require (and those that do not require) Holocaust education as part of the curriculum taught in public elementary and secondary schools, (2) assess the quality of Holocaust education provided by schools, and (3) assess the types and quality of instructional material used to teach students about the Holocaust.</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9681 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 22, 2022 Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Mr. McCaul , Ms. Manning , Mr. Sherman , Mr. Fitzpatrick , Ms. Jackson Lee , and Ms. Wasserman Schultz ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Department of Education to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act or the HEAL Act . 2. Study and report on Holocaust education (a) Study Beginning not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education (referred to in this Act as the Director ) shall conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public elementary and secondary schools. (b) Elements In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Director shall— (1) identify States and local educational agencies that require Holocaust education as part of the curriculum taught in public elementary and secondary schools; (2) identify States and local educational agencies that do not require Holocaust education as part of the curriculum taught in public elementary and secondary schools; (3) assess the quality of Holocaust education provided by public elementary and secondary schools, including through the qualitative and quantitative analysis of such indicators as— (A) in-class discussion; (B) educational activities conducted outside the classroom, including homework assignments; and (C) project based learning; (4) assess the types and quality of instructional materials used to teach students about the Holocaust; (5) examine the duration and comprehensiveness of any Holocaust-related courses or lessons provided by public elementary and secondary schools; and (6) analyze the approaches used by such schools to assess students’ knowledge of the Holocaust, including the use of traditional and nontraditional assessments. (c) Report (1) In general Following the completion of the study under subsection (a), the Director shall prepare and submit to Congress a report on the results of the study. (2) Deadline for submittal The report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later than the earlier of— (A) 180 days after the completion of the study under subsection (a); or (B) three years after the date of the enactment of this section. (d) Definitions In this Act: (1) ESEA Terms The terms elementary school , local educational agency , secondary school , and State have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ). (2) Holocaust The term Holocaust has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Never Again Education Act ( Public Law 116–141 ; 36 U.S.C. 2301 note). (3) Holocaust education The term Holocaust education means educational activities that are specifically intended— (A) to improve students’ awareness and understanding of the Holocaust; (B) to educate students on the lessons of the Holocaust as a means to raise awareness about the importance of preventing genocide, hate, and bigotry against any group of people; and (C) to study the history of antisemitism, its deep historical roots, the use of conspiracy theories and propaganda that target the Jewish people, and the shape-shifting nature of antisemitism over time. (4) Project Based Learning The term project based learning means a teaching method through which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.