An Act To Require Education about the Holocaust
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1050
Committee Amendment CA_A-HA_A_H485 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4706

FffiST REGULAR SESSION 
HOUSE AMENDMENT" A" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 310, 
L.D. 1050, Bill, "An Act To Require Education about the Holocaust" 
Amend the amendment by striking out the substitute title and replacing it with the 
following: 
'An Act To Require Education about African-Amel'ican History and the History of 
Genocide' 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of section 1 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §4706, as amended by PL 2009, c. 313, §§8 and 9, is further 
amended to read: 
§4706. Instruction in American history, African-American studies, Maine studies, 
Maine Native American history and genocide 
Instruction in American history, African-American studies, government, citizenship 
and .. Maine studies and the history of genocide must be aligned with the parameters for 
essential instruction and graduation requirements established under section 6209. 
1. American history. American history, government and citizenship, including the 
Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, the impo1iance of 
voting and the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship, must be taught in and 
required for graduation from all elementary and secondary schools, both public and 
private. A required component of American histocy is African-American studies, which 
must be included in the review of content standards and performance indicators of the 
system of learning results conducted in accordance with section 6209, subsection 4. 
African-American studies must address African-American cultural systems and the 
experience of African-Americans throughout history, including. but not limited to, topics 
such as precolonial indigenous ethnic populations, African-American genocide, the 
Underground Railroad, emancipation. Reconstruction, the Great Migration, Jim Crow 
laws, the civil rights movement. the so-called war on drugs, the federal War on Poverty 
initiative and mass incarceration. 
2. 
Maine studies. 
Maine history, including the Constitution of Maine, Maine 
geography and environment and the natural, industrial and economic resources of Maine 
and Maine's cultural and ethnic heritage, must be taught. A required oomponent Required 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT ·:A-" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P, 310, L.D. 1050 
components of Maine studies is are Maine Native American studies and Maine African-
American studies, which must be included in the review of content standards and 
performance indicators of the leaming results conducted in accordance with section 6209, 
subsection 4. The Maine Native American studies must address the following topics: 
A. Maine tribal governments and political systems and their relationship with local, 
state, national and intemational governments; 
B. Maine Native American cultl.U'al systems and the experience of Maine tribal 
people throughout history; 
C. Maine Native American territories; and 
D. Maine Native American economic systems. 
3. 
Genocide. 
The history of genocide, including the Holocaust and African-
American genocide, must be taught and must be included in the review of content 
standards and performance indicators of the system of learning results conducted in 
accordance with section 6209, subsection 4. For purposes of this subsection, 
11Holocaust
is the program of discriminatory and genocidal laws, policies or actions targeted against 
discrete groups of individuals based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation. 
physical disability or national origin, from January 1, 1933 to December 31, 1945. in 
Nazi Germany or in any European country allied with or occupied by Nazi Germany. 
11African-American genocide" means discriminatory genocidal laws, policies or actions 
targeted against African-Americans and indigenous ethnic populations throughout 
history, 
including 
slavery, 
lynching. 
economic 
disenfranchisement and 
other 
state-sanctioned killings. 
Sec. 2. Development of curriculum; advisory gi·oups. The Department of 
Education shall identify cu11icular themes, resources and materials for teaching 
African-American history and culture, including Maine African-American histo1y and 
culture, and the history of genocide in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
20-A, section 4706, subsection 1. The department shall also identify educators in the 
State who are implementing model approaches to teaching African-American history and 
culture and the history of genocide and highlight these educators in the distributed 
materials. 
In order to collect information and prepare materials under this section for the 
teaching of Afdcan-American history and culture, the department shall convene a 
volunteer advisory group that includes scholars on Aftican~American history and culture, 
representatives from African-American civil rights organizations in the State, 
African-American history and cultural organizations and the Gerald E. Talbot Collection 
at the University of Southem Maine and members of the public with knowledge, life 
experience or educational backgrounds that would inform the collection of information 
and preparation of materials. 
In order to collect information and prepare materials under this section for the 
teaching of the histo1y of genocide, the department shall convene a volunteer advisory 
group that includes scholars on the Holocaust and genocide studies, representatives of 
civil and human rights organizations and the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of 
Maine and members of the public with knowledge, life experience or educational 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT ·A "to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 310, L.D. 1050 
backgrounds that would infonn the collection of information and preparation of 
materials.' 
Amend the amendment by inserting after section 2 the following: 
'Sec. 3. Effective date. That section of this Act that amends the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 20-A, section 4706 takes effect July 1, 2020.' 
Amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter 
or section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment requires that African-American history and culture be taught in 
schools, aligned with the parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements 
and included in the review of content standards and performance indicators of the system 
of learning results. This amendment directs the Department of Education to convene 2 
volunteer advisory groups to collect information and prepare and make available 
materials for teaching African-American history and culture and the history of genocide 
in accordance with this legislation. 
This amendment also provides that the addition of African-American history and the 
history of genocide to the school curriculum takes effect July 1, 2020 so as to be in effect 
for the 2020-2021 school year. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
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(See attached) 
SPONSORED BY: {u__,[,bJ~{Lb[vile>V 
(Representative TALBOT ROSS) 
TOWN: Portland 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 06/04/19 feac... 
LD 1050 
, LR 2072(05) 
An Act To Require Education about the Holocaust 
Fiscal Note for House Amendment '.411 to Committee Amendment 
A 
II 
Sponsor: Rep. Talbot Ross of Portland 
State Mandates 
Required Activity 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential State Mandate - Unfunded 
Requires African-American studies, with an emphasis on Maine African-American 
history and culture, to be taught in schools. 
Unit Affected 
School 
Local Cost 
Moderate 
statewide 
The required local activities in this bill may represent a state mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine. If the bill 
does require a local unit of government to expand or modify its activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures 
from local revenue, the state mandate provisions of the Constitution of Maine require either: (1) General Fund 
appropriations be provided to fund at least 90% of any additional necessitated local costs of the mandate; or (2) a 
Mandate Preamble be added to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt the mandate from 
the funding requirement. If the bill does .represent a state mandate and neither one of these actions occurs, the local 
units of government will not be required to implement the mandated activities. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Department of Education to implement the requirements of this legislation can be absorbed 
within existing budgeted resources. 
LR2072(05) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1