Act 30 (2021): Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides

What does the statute require of districts?

The statutory language can be found on the state legislature website.

"An Act to amend 115.28 (55) (title); and to create 115.28 (55m), 118.40 (2r) (b) 2. L., 118.40 (2x) (b) 2. L., 118.60 (2) (a) 9., 119.23 (2) (a) 9. and 121.02 (1) (L) 8. of the statutes; relating to: incorporating the Holocaust and other genocides into the state model social studies standards and requiring instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides.

"121.02 (1) (L) 8. b. By July 1, 2022, as a part of the social studies curriculum, include instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides at least once in grades 5 to 8 and at least once in grades 9 to 12."

The statute applies to every school board, independent charter school, and private school participating in a parental choice program. 

This means the main points for districts about this statute:

• Expectation in Social Studies

• Instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides be included at least once in grades 5-8 and at least once in grades 9-12

• Districts had until July 1, 2022 to work their curriculum to meet this requirement (to start the 2022-23 school year)

What does the statute require of DPI?

• The Holocaust and other genocides be incorporated into the model academic standards for social studies.
  • The Holocaust and other genocides can be found in the Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies (2018) under "Historical Eras and Themes" (page 42). 
• Devleop model curricula and instructional materials on the same subject.

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    The Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC) has curated trusted resources from partners such as Yad Vashem, the Anti-Defamation League, the Shoah Foundation, the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation, the Wiener Holocaust Library, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Facing History and Ourselves into an amazing resource called the Holocaust Education Map.  It aligns the resources to our Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies, and allows educators to search through multiple resources  based on themes, topics, and dates.  
  • We are building a Wisconsin Act 30 group on WiseLearn, our OER platform. Resources align to the "other genocide" portion of the statute, and are aligned to the Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies.  

Additionally, Wisconsin DPI consulted with the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center in Milwaukee, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, IL, and state agencies in Colorado, Washington State, Kentucky, Arizona, Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Massachusetts.