CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Of the hundreds and hundreds of pages in the new state budget, page 108 outlines how educators need to teach a certain topic: the Holocaust.
THE QUESTION:
Is the Holocaust required to be taught in North Carolina Schools?
OUR SOURCES:
THE ANSWER:
Yes, while many schools were already covering this material, the Holocaust is now required to be taught in North Carolina Schools.
WHAT WE FOUND:
According to the State budget, starting in the 2023-2024 school year, middle and high schools will be required to integrate lessons about the Holocaust in certain classes.
"It's important that students begin to learn and they learn the stages of genocide and these types of atrocities and recognize the stages of genocide," Mclaughlin said.
The legislation calls on the State Board of Education, the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust, and the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teachers to coordinate and integrate the Holocaust Curriculum into English, Social Studies, and other courses.
"These local boards are mandated to make sure locally that curriculum is being provided to the teachers to be taught accurately and that teachers have resources are appropriate," Mclaughlin said.
Was the Holocaust taught in North Carolina Schools before this mandate? In an email from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, they told us local school districts determine curriculum. Still, teaching about the Holocaust falls into several State Board-approved standards for Social Studies.
They went on to say:
"We are not aware of any schools in the state not addressing the Holocaust in some way."
CMS outlined its curriculum in an email, showing instruction of the Holocaust begins in Middle School and extends through high school. Social Studies Consultant Michelle McLaughlin tells us this new mandate just strengthens the material.
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