As teachers gear up for the start of the next school year, Florida's holocaust education task force has finalized a resource guide. Teachers can use this guide as a tool when crafting their lessons.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that expands Holocaust education in schools. It requires teachers to include lessons regarding anti-Semitism.
"Anti-Semitism is on the rise. It hasn't been taught in any structured way before in schools," Chair of the state's Holocaust Education Task Force Barbara Goldstein says.
She's hoping the new requirement will shine a light on the history of anti-Semitism.
"It need[s] to be addressed, and hopefully we can create some learning about anti-Semitism in the schools and in the classrooms that we've never done before with this new legislation," Goldstein says.
The new law also makes the second week in November, Holocaust Education Week. To help teachers create lessons on the Holocaust, Goldstein's team drafted up a resource guide.
"So, this resource guide will be put out as soon as possible to all the school districts," Goldstein says.
She says there will also be additional training opportunities for teachers:
"Some areas plan multi-days of workshops during the summer or during the school year with a subject matter expert or a professional development facilitator."
Goldstein says these workshops allow teachers to get resources they can take back to the classroom for lessons.
The new law also requires the state's African American History Task Force to review how the 1920 Ocoee Election Day Riots can be added to African American History lessons.
