Requirements for Texas Schools

Requirements for Texas Schools 2023

What is Required:

SB 1828 states that grades K through 12 students in Texas must receive Holocaust instruction during Holocaust Remembrance Week, that the THGAAC will develop or approve resources that schools will use, and that each school district will determine which of those resources are appropriate for different student age groups. Implicitly, the legislation also permits each district to determine the appropriate length of instruction during the week.

While SB 1828 does not require instruction regarding other atrocities in history, some educators choose to include extension lessons in their Holocaust instruction with the purpose of raising students' awareness of other genocides. When doing so, educators should make sure to help students distinguish between the various historical contexts, factors, and actors; in other words, while certain patterns are evident in the study of genocides, they should not be treated as interchangeable. With that guideline in mind, many educators find it more manageable to focus on the Holocaust during Holocaust Remembrance Week in January and on other genocides during Genocide Awareness Month in April. (More about Best Practices can be found on this website's How to Teach About Genocides.) Unlike Holocaust Remembrance Week, Genocide Awareness Month in April is not required under state law. However, for campuses that want to teach about it, THGAAC staff offers free instructional support on genocides to Texas educators and can also provide live classroom or campus presentations to students. These services are available year-round, not only in April.

School districts should also bear in mind that some genocides are included in social studies TEKS for certain classes. (These and other social studies TEKS are currently under review in 2022.)

For Clarification of Requirements or Help in Planning, Please Contact:

THGAAC Director of Education Dr. J.E. Wolfson at j.e.wolfson@thgaac.texas.gov or 512.936.2547