Arizona’s long-awaited Holocaust education bill finally gets its moment
The legislation codifies the decision by the Arizona Board of Education to add Holocaust studies to the state curriculum
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Arizona Rep. Alma Hernandez with Holocaust survivors in the Arizona House of Representatives in Phoenix last year. By Share
Last week, Alma Hernandez, a Democratic state legislator from Tucson, introduced her long-awaited Holocaust education bill to the Arizona House of Representatives. The bill, which is likely to pass with bipartisan support in both chambers, requires that public schools in Arizona teach students about the Holocaust and other genocides at least twice between grades seven and 12.
Back when Dobson High teacher Kim Klett was beginning her path to a doctoral degree in English, she decided to take a class that would impact the rest of her career: Holocaust Literature.
âI donât remember learning it in high school so I took the class,â Kim Klett says. âIt was a real eye opener, and I thought, wow, this could be really powerful at the high school level.âÂ
She took another class on how to teach the Holocaust and put together what is now her Holocaust Literature class.Â
Then, in 2001, Klettâs Holocaust Literature class became only the second offered in a public high school in Arizona.Â