Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has signed a new law that mandates Holocaust education in the state’s secondary school system.
Two years ago (May 15, 2020) the Oklahoma State Senate passed an anti-BDS law barring the state government from providing contracts to companies that boycott Israel.
Now, Senate Bill 1671, co-written by State Representative John Waldron, requires public school students in grades six through 12 to learn more about the Holocaust in which six million Jews were exterminated by the Nazis during World War II.
Waldron said the Holocaust is taught in the state’s schools — but not often enough.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education will help develop and disseminate the curriculum.
Lawmakers in Oklahoma said the new law was crafted with input from Jewish leaders in the community, KOCO ABC-5 reported.
“This bill is the result of a collaboration among the Jewish Federations of Oklahoma and the State Department of Education. It is a bipartisan, bicameral effort,” said Republican State Representative Carol Bush of Tulsa.
The law takes effect this July.
