On December 2, 2021, Governor Baker signed S.2557, An Act concerning genocide education, into law - Bill H692 Genocide Education. Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, this law requires every school district to, for the purpose of educating middle and high school students, provide instruction on the history of genocide consistent with the content standards in the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework.
To support this requirement, the new law:
- directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to assist schools in facilitating access to curricular materials and professional development relating to genocide education;
- establishes a competitive grant program to provide support for instruction on the history of genocide; and
- creates a Genocide Education Trust Fund to support the grant program and other initiatives administered by DESE.
The new law does not require genocide instruction in every year of middle and high school. Rather, “genocide education and instruction shall be utilized during appropriate times in middle and high school curricula, as determined by the local school district.”
The 7-12 Social Studies and English Departments documented where in our curriculum or courses genocide education occurs. Please see below for a brief overview.
- Violence against Indigenous people in America: Grade 7 Social Studies
- Examination of the ways in which groups of people have been depicted and dehumanized in the media: Grade 7 Social Studies
- Armenian Genocide: US History II (Grade 11); AP European History (Grade 12); Genocide and Conflict Resolution (Grades 10-12)
- Holocaust:
- Grade 7 Social Studies and guest speaker, Janet Applefield, Holocaust survivor;
- World History curriculum addresses events that are antecedents such Pogroms during the Bubonic Plague;
- Genocide and Conflict Resolution (Grades 10-12);
- English texts (e.g., Everything is Illuminated and Night along with a PSA project)
- Uyghurs: Grade 8 Social Studies; International Relations (Grade 12)
- Bosnia: AP European History (Grade 12)
- Cambodia: US History II (Grade 11); Genocide and Conflict Resolution (Grade 10-12)
- Rwanda: US History II (Grade 11); Genocide and Conflict Resolution (Grade 10-12)
- Sudan: Genocide and Conflict Resolution (Grade 10-12)
As outlined in DESE’s April 2022 FAQ/Guidance, the ABRSD fulfills the requirement of this legislation.